Not so Happily Ever After
by SaintlyZombieKiller
Summary: The fairy tales we know and love, aren't what we think they are.
1. Chapter 1

_**Disclaimer: **I do not own Xiaolin Showdown, any fairy tales or the Dark Parables games which inspired me to write this. I do own Garnet Chambers though._

* * *

**Chapter 1: In a far away land**

Once upon a time, in a far away land, there lived 4 young children. They lived in a temple with a wise old master and a wise even older dragon. These four children were trained in the art of martial arts and magic. Their goal was to protect earth from evil.

The truth? The _Once Upon A Time_ thing is wrong. It happened almost 2 months ago. The _Far Away Land _bit merely reflects on how far away you live from China. Everything else is true.

The four children were named Omi, Clay, Raimundo and Kimiko. Their old master was Master Fung and the dragon was Dojo. The martial arts and magic is defiantly true.

The Xiaolin temple helped to train the monks in their battle against the Heylin. The monks used special items called Shen-Gong-Wu.

But this isn't where our story starts. No, our story starts with a talking cat.

What? In a story that features Dragons and mystical items, why are you so surprised?

It was a muggy, hot day at the temple. The dragons were half way through their chores. Kimiko stopped sweeping and wiped her forehead. She was hoping to relax and cool down. The heat was killing her.

Kimiko lent against her broom as she stood in front of the main hall. The irony of the heat killing a fire dragon was not lost on her, and Kimiko began to chuckle to herself. Then her attention fell onto a cat.

It was the most oddest thing she had seen. The orange tomcat simply walked into the temple, trotted up the path and then sat down in the middle of said path. It looked round before it's bright green eyes landed on Kimiko. That wasn't what had gotten her attention.

The fact that the cat was wearing a blue scarf and a blue musketeer's hat. That was what got Kimiko's attention.

"Kimiko! Why have you stopped? You should be working!" Omi scolded. The boy all joined Kimiko who ignored them.

"Leave it out Omi. It's too hot." Raimundo complained. Omi turned with the intention of scolding Raimundo too.

"It is awfully hot, isn't it?"

The dragons all looked at the cat. "Who said that?" Clay ventured. The cat smiled.

"I did." It replied. The dragons jumped back. The cat bowed his head slightly. "My name is Sir Baxter Pussywillow the Third." He looked back at the dragons. "You can call me Puss."

"It's a talking cat." Kimiko whispered. Omi leapt into fighting stance.

"It could be a spy from Chase Young." The cat frowned in confusion.

"I am not a spy and who is this Chase Young?" Puss shook his head. "Never mind. I need your help."

"Like hell we'd help an enemy." Raimundo shot back. Puss let out a growl of frustration.

"How can we be enemies if we've never met?" The dragons fell silent. "I need help with two things. Where am I and I need to find my boots."

"Wait a minute." Kimiko walked down the steps to Puss. "Are you saying you're Puss in Boots? _The_ Puss in Boots?" Puss clicked his tongue over his teeth.

"A most ridiculous nickname to be fair but yes. I am Puss in Boots." Kimiko blinked slowly.

"But you're a fairy tale!" She spluttered. Puss rose an eyebrow.

"If you're not going to help then I'll find so-"

**"SHEN-GONG-U ALERT!"**

* * *

With the heat as bad as it was, Jack Spicer reasoned that it was okay for him to just laze away. The actual thought of him doing anything productive made Jack break out into a sweat.

So there he was, trying to stay cool when his wu detector went off. Jack could have left it but he had to get the wu if he wanted to be ruler of the world.

Getting dressed had been a pain. The absences of his boots just added to it. "Mom! Where are my boots?" Jack yelled from the open door of his lair. There came no reply.

"Bloody woman. Always messing with my st-" Jack paused and looked down. Sat next to the door was a pair of dark brown leather boots. Oddly enough they were covered in cat hair. Knowing he was on a short time limit, Jack pulled on the boots. Surprisingly they fitted him well. Jack paid it little thought as he set off with a few Jackbots.

* * *

"What's the wu Dojo?"

Omi unrolled the wu scroll as Dojo spoke. "The axe of silver-"

"Can cut through anything." Puss began. Everyone looked at him. "It can. Unlike it's sister which can only cut the golden tree."

"Okay. What?" Raimundo asked. Puss sighed and shifted in his place. Dojo winced.

"Hey. Watch where you put those claws." He complained. Puss ignored him.

"The golden axe and the silver axe were created by the Gemini goddesses. The golden axe can only cut through the golden tree. The silver axe can cut through anything. Stone, trees, granite. Anything."

"So how did the axe become a wu?" Clay inquired from the back. All eyes turned to Dojo.

"That isn't our axe. The wu axe can turn the user into steel and become indestructible." The dragon explained.

"Ah. Well that's good then because the goddesses's axes were stolen."

"Stolen? They must not have been very clever goddesses then." Omi huffed.

"Shh! Don't say things like that. You don't wanna get cursed do you?" Puss informed. The dragons looked at each other. "The golden axe was hidden by a witch and the silver axe was taken by Jack."

"Jack? As in Jack Spicer?" Kimiko asked. Puss cocked his head to one side.

"Who?"

"Never mind." The group lapsed into silence. The dragons rode over a small village where dojo came to a sudden stop.

"Dojo? What's wrong?" Clay asked.

"There's a giant tree in the way." Puss moved forward, sitting on Dojo's head.

"That's not a tree. That's a beanstalk." He gasped. High above in the trees there came a sound of clashing metal. "We need to go to the beanstalk. Now." Puss urged. Dojo flew towards the object.

At the bottom of the beanstalk, the dragons and Puss found Jack trying to pull the wu from the base. Puss's heckles rose suddenly. "Hey! You've got my boots!"

Jack turned and regarded Puss. "I didn't think the Xiaolin Losers would hang around with Chases's friends." He snipped. Puss meowed loudly and launched himself at Jack. The pair tumbled to the ground.

Before the dragons could move, something shook the beanstalk. A female slid down, using two swords to stop her fall. She was near the ground when she stopped. The female looked back up. "Goddamn it Jack! Think of your sister!" She urged.

"I don't have a sister." Jack muttered from the ground. He let out a sudden scream when Puss advanced again.

"My boots. Now." He unleashed his claws causing Jack to pull the boots off and throw them at the cat.

"Take them! Don't hurt me!" Dojo watched Puss pull on the boots.

"Much better." The cat purred.

"You could walk just fine without them." The dragon pointed out. The clashing of metal started again.

"I know but walking on all fours is so uncouth." Puss replied. "If you want that axe, I suggest you get it now." The cat dashed off to climb the beanstalk.

The dragons surged into life which also prompted Jack to call his Jackbots. One Jackbots flew too close to the female who stopped fighting and held a hand out toward the machine. "Hey! What are you doing with my Jackbot?" Jack called out in a whine. The female ignored him.

The Jackbot spluttered and shook in the air. The female threw her hand up in the direction of the clouds. The Jackbot shot up. It disappeared in the clouds. Then there was a suddenly clank and the Jackbot came hurtling back towards the female. There wasn't enough time for her to move. The female and the Jackbot collided painfully, sending the female, her swords and the Jackbot crashing to the ground.

"Garnet!" Puss climbed down at the beanstalk as Raimundo tugged the axe free. There came a shake and a groan before the beanstalk disappeared from view.


	2. Chapter 2

_Thank you to ZJohnson for their review!_

* * *

**Chapter 2: There Was A...**

With all the chaos that happend around them and the fact he was scard by Puss, Jack fled the scene without so much as a lame quip about how he would be back. The dragons huddled round the wu and stared in wonder. "It doesn't look like much." Clay muttered.

"When has any of the wu looked like much Clay?" Kimiko turned to look at the still form of the female. "A bigger question is what are we going to do about her?"

"We can not leave her. It is the duty of the Xiao-" Raimundo cut Omi off.

"We get it Omi. We'll take her back to the temple. Maybe she can help us with what just happened." With the plan now set, the Dragons carefully placed the female onto Dojo. They proped her up against Clay in case she fell during the flight home. Puss climbed up next with a paw firmly on the female's two swords.

"Do you know who she is?" Kimiko inquried. Puss nodded his head as Dojo set off into the sky.

"I wouldn't say we're best friends but we know each other." Puss glanced down at the swords. "I know what she is and what she does in any case." The rest of the journey fell into silence.

* * *

The dragons had set the female down in the temple hall. The room was cool enough and there were plently of people to keep an eye on her. Kimiko was currently on that duty. She watched the boys from the temple hall door playing around with the new wu. Puss sat down next to her.

"Who was that on the beanstalk? I know she called out Jack but who is he?" Kimiko asked. Puss wrinkled his nose slightly.

"Jack, King of the Beanstalk. The sole ruler of the kingdom in the skies." Puss began to wash his ears while he spoke. "That man's a maniac."

Kimiko's eyes drifted back to the female. "She fought against a giant?" Puss stared at Kimiko in confuse.

"Is this one of your fairytale jokes again?" Kimiko grew red in the face.

"It's not a joke!" She snapped. The boys turned to Kimiko and Puss. "Jack and the beanstalk. Jack fought a giant." Kimiko insisted. Puss shook his head.

"Jack is no giant. He stole the silve axe from the goddesses, killed a giant and was drive mad by the power. His sister still walks the lands looking for a way to bring him back." Puss explained. Raimundo motioned to the still female.

"What about her?"

"Garnet?" Puss frowned. "She's no help."

"How do ya know partner?" Clay asked. Puss straightened his hat.

"Garnet Chambers did some questionable things with some questionable people. She's a liar and a cheat and a treasure hunter. But," Puss began to feel bad about what he said. "The gods saw kindness in her and allowed her to become their vassel."

"If we're going to talk about questionable things with questionable people, you might want to look at yourself Baxter." A voice from behind spat. The dragons and Puss all jumped and turned as one. Garnet Chambers was glaring at Puss as she rubbed her head.

Garnet was a slender looking woman who openly wour her battle scars. She had pure white hair and steel grey eyes set in a frown. Her outfit which consisted of a tank top, shorts and boots were set in a gold, white and brown combo. A tattered red cloak was fixed over one shoulder.

Puss wiggled his nose in thought. "I have no idea what you're talking about." He muttered. The dragons clearly knew something was up. Garnet stopped rubbing her head and fixed an even heated glare Puss.

"You know damn well what I'm talking about. And if anyone here is a liar, it's you." She shot back. The ginger tomcat shuffled nervously on his spot.

"Please. Would a noble cat such as I lie to these people?" Puss scoffed. For the first time Garnet's attention directed itself to the dragons.

"Every stop to wonder where his family is?" The dragons did not answer. "It's because he's been banished from them." Garnet began. Puss's heckles rose again and he hissed at Garnet.

"Shut up! I was not!" He snapped. Garnet ignored him and carried on.

"He's a complusive liar. Baxter tricked numerous people concerning a poor peaseant boy."

"I help him!"

"He was banished because he helped someone?" Clay hitched his hat up in thought. "Sounds mighty cruel to me."

"Oh that wasn't why he was banished. Baxter's family are a breed of werecat; highly intelligent and very rich. Baxter was suppose to marry one of his own kind from a far off land. Instead," Garnet looked briefly back at Puss who seemed to plead with her. "He falls for a shepardess and persues her. Only thing she sees him as a farm cat. Deep wounds indeed."

Puss seemed smaller then before. "I wish you wouldn't remind me of that." He whispered.

"Then don't go making out I'm some sort of villian. I'm an anti-hero at best." Garnet tried to stand but her legs wobbled and she fell back down.

"But you cheat. You steal." Omi began. Garnet regarded the little monk.

"I cheat but I don't steal. I'm a treasure hunter." Garnet ran a hand through her hair again. "But if the gods need me then I have to help. Which reminds me." Garnet looked back at the dragons. "Where in the nine kingdoms am I?"

"You are at the proud Xiaolin Temple." Omi bragged, puffing his chest out. Garnet paused in thought.

"I didn't realise I'd traveled to the Kingdom of the Rise Sun. How odd." She muttered. Puss snorted and pointed a claw at Kimiko.

"She keeps saying that we're fairytales." He informed. Kimiko felt her temper rise again.

"That's because you are!" She yelled. Something seemed to click inside Garnet's head.

"I need to contact the gods. They can help." She looked back at the dragons who were trying to stop Kimiko from killing Puss. "Everyone out. Now." The dragons didn't move at first. "Now!" Garnet barked. They all surged into life and left the hall. "Close the door!" Garnet ordered. Raimundo and Clay closed the hall doors with a heavy thump.

* * *

2 hours past before Garnet left the hall. She looked more drained then before as she stumbled outside into the sun. The monks were quick to her side. Master Fung watched Garnet struggle to walk. "Is there anything you need?" He inquried.

"Food. I'm starving." Garnet replied.

In the dining room the dragons, Master and Dojo waited for Garnet to explain. Instead she took her time stuffing her face. Even Puss sat waiting for an explination. After a while Master Fung coughed polity. "Miss Chambers?"

"Call me Garnet." The female replied. She ate some more food before wiping her mouth. "And what do I call you guys?"

"My name is Master Fung. This is Kimiko, Raimundo, Omi, Clay and Dojo." Garnet nodded her head slowly as each name was state. She then looked at Puss.

"You owe Kimiko an apology Baxter." The cat in question spluttered loudly.

"I do not!"

"Yeah. You do." Garnet rested her elbows on the table. "According the gods, Kimiko is right. We just so happen to be fairytales in this world." Puss stared at her in shock. "And one of our fairytale people stole something important and caused this mess."

"If we were fairytales then they should have some way to prove it." Kimiko instantly got to her feet.

"I've got something!" She declared and was off like a shot. A few minutes later she came back with a large book. _Fairytales_ was written in gold on the cover. "Get a load of this." Kimiko grinned and opened the book.

"Get a load of what?" Puss sniffed. Omi peered at the book.

"Why are the pages blank?"

"Don't be silly Omi. Of course the pages aren't bla-" Kimiko stared in shock at her beloved childhood book.

Every page had gone blank.


	3. Chapter 3

_Thank you once again to ZJohnson for her review._

* * *

**Chapter 3: Portal Reflux**

"They call it a portal reflux." Garnet began. Kimiko flicked through her book numerous times but every page was blank.

"A portal what?" Dojo asked. Puss scoffed to himself.

"That's just a myth." He retorted. Garnet paid him no mind.

"A portal reflux. Your world and our world are connected but are kept hidden from each other. Only the gods know of your world. Well...up until now."

"What has this got to do with my book?" Kimiko angrily asked. Garnet held up a gloved hand.

"I'll get to that in a second. Now when a portal reflux happens, which is like once in a blue moon so to speak, the barrier becomes weak. If you're lucky enough, you can catch a glimsp into our world. Only you won't be abled to talk to or touch anything. Just look."

"Which explains why you people seem to get the wrong end of the stick." Puss replied. Garnet raised a white eyebrow.

"Really? Kimiko had you figured from the moment you opened your dumb mouth." She replied. Puss stuck his tongue out at Garnet. "Regardless," Garnet was tempted to swear at the tomcat but refrained from doing so on holy ground. "This is why you have fairytales."

"Let me see if Ah got this right." Clay lent forward and the table groaned under the weight of his elbows. "You're sayin' that every fairytale in the world was created because of this portal reflux?"

"You got it partner. Not only that but all your nursery rhymes as well. We're kind of one big happy fighting family." Garnet grinned.

"What will happen if your world is not restored?" Master Fung inquried.

"The usual. Total destruction of our world. No biggie." Garnet shrugged.

"No boggie? Your world will be destroyed. Do you not care? What kind of vessel are you?" Omi demanded. He jumped on the table and pointed a finger wildly at Garnet. Clay grabbed hold of his friend.

"Easy partner. Ah'm sure Garnet does care really. And Ah think you mean _biggie_."

"That is what I said!"

"I do but I've become pretty much use to it. You try keeping nine kingdoms from killing each other. On top of that there's all the witches, wizards, fairies and general folk who go messing around with magic." Garnet sighed dramtically. "A girl can get rushed off her feet."

"Not to mention you mess around with magic most of the time." Puss shot back. Garnet glared at him.

"It's not magic you ass." Garnet turned back to the dragons all stared at her. "What?"

"That thing you did to one of Jack's robots." Dojo began. Puss muttered _magic_ under his breath. Garnet shoved her hand out in his direction. The chair he sat on tremble before sliding against the kitchen. It smacked into a cupboard before toppling over.

"That?" The dragons nodded their head. "Telekinesis." Garnet pointed to her hair. "That's why my hair is white. Some of us are marked in certain ways when we're born. Mine was having white hair."

"Which is why your parents abandoned you." Puss muttered. He set his chair up right and sat down.

"You are this close Puss! I swear to the holy heaven kingdom!" Garnet raged. Puss gave her an indifferent look.

"You mentioned nine kingdoms." Dojo commented.

"The nine kingdoms of our world. The Heavenly Kingdom, the Kingdom of the Rising Sun, the Sky Kingdom, The Rosa Kingdom, The Ice Kingdom, The Seaside Kingdom, the Glass Kingdom, The Apple Kingdom and the Briar kingdom." Puss replied.

"So how do you know all about this portal reflux thing?" Raimundo asked. Garnet forced herself to turn away from Puss. She lifted one side of her top to show a powder blue swirl design on her side.

"I am a vessal of the gods. There are many of us around our world. I have other jobs and means for money but when the gods call..." Garnet trailed off and pulled her top down. "Because of the mark on my side, I can talk to the gods whenever I want. Usually they contact me but they couldn't get through. This whole mess has caused too many problems. They're coming in like static."

"But they told you everything you need to know?" Master Fung asked. Garnet nodded her head.

"They mentioned something known as a Shen-gong-wu." The dragons looked at each other. Garnet frowned in thought. "When a shen-gong-wu shows itself you will find the other residents. Send them through a story book to restore order." Garnet shrugged. "Something like that."

"We have the story book." Kimiko grinned.

"And we have a way to detect a wu." Omi proclaimed pointing at Dojo. Puss felt incredibly confused.

"Before we get ahead of ourselves. Just what is a Shen-gong-wu?" The dragons, Master Fung and Dojo began to retell the history of the Xiaolin Temple, the wu and their purpose and the rules of a Xiaolin Showdown. By the end of it, Puss felt his head spin.


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4: The Shepardess of the Rosa Kingdom**

The following morning had began with another argument between Garnet and Puss. "I'm not leaving without her." Puss stood firm. Garnet wiped a hand down her face and cursed softly to herself.

"Baxter. I don't know when I'll find her. I can't have you running around. I need to get this under control."

"Always about what you want! I want her back and I'm staying until I find her." Puss hissed. Garnet raised her fist. The dragons stood in the doorway watching the scene play out.

"Baxter. I swear to the Seaside Kingdom, I will knock eight bells of sense into you. I swear it." Garnet warned.

"You wouldn't dare hit me." Puss scoffed.

"You forget. I don't need to hit you to do damange." Garnet's fist opened up. "You are leaving through the story bo-"

"Excuse me." Both Garnet and Puss looked down to see Dojo slithering into the kitchen. The action caused the dragons to move out the doorway when their hiding place was found. "Thought you'd like to know."

"Know what?" Puss snapped.

"**Shen-gong-wu**!" Dojo yelled before shaking so badly he began to bounce along the floor. Puss turned to Garnet.

"I'm coming." Before Garnet could argue further, Puss followed Dojo outside. She let out another curse before joining them.

"Where are we heading Dojo?" Clay asked. The dragon grew his true form and everyone climbed aboard.

"England. In the Scottish highlands." The dragons replied before whisking off into the sky. Omi opened the wu scroll to the see the image of a ram's head. "The Ram's Head allows the user to ram open any lock door or wall by using their head."

"Boy, that sure sounds like a major headache." Raimundo joked. Kimiko giggled behind her hand. Puss turned back slightly to look at Garnet. She merely shook her head.

* * *

Dojo landed on a hill in Scotland. The group disembarked. "Say where is the wu Dojo?" The little dragon slithered onto Clay's hat and pointed towards a large section of woods.

"That w-"

"**Let me go! I demand that you let me go at once!**"

"_Ow! Hey! Quick hitting me!_"

Puss's hackles rose again. "That sounded like Jack." Clay commented.

"And that was Mary!" Puss darted off into the forst. Garnet was at his heels. The dragons quickly raced behind. The group ran through the forest in search of the voices. They finally appeared in a clearing where a red haired shepardess was hitting Jack with her crook.

"Leave me alone!" The female yelled. Jack moved quickly as she swung her crook again. "You vile man! What have you done with my Clover?"

"Look lady, I don't know what you're talking about. I came for the wu." Jack tensed suddenly and turned to see the group. His eyes widened when he saw Puss. "Not you again. **Jackbots Attack**!"

The robots flew into the clearing causing the shepardess to scream in fright. Puss ducked and dodged his way over to her when his path was a Jackbot began to fire. "Puss!" The shepardess yelled.

"Stay there Mary. I'll come get you." Puss reassured before fighting off the robot. While the monks, Garnet and Puss were busy, Jack made his way to the wu location. Which was in the tree behind Mary.

Omi unleashed his element causing a Jackbot to sail straight for the tree. Mary and Jack screamed at the same time. Garnet turned to watch as the Ram's Head wu fell from the tree and landed in the hands of both Mary and Jack. The boy genius opened his mouth to issue the challenge but Mary seemed to beat him to it.

"Jack Spicer. I challenge you to a Xiaolin Showdown."

"How does she know about that?" Clay asked. Everyone's attention fell onto Garnet who had one hand pointed at Mary. She motioned with another hand for the Dragons to throw a wu. Raimundo untied the third arm sash form Clay's waist and tossed it towards Mary. The shepardess did not look at them but caught the wu.

"My third arm sash against your mantis flip coin."

"I accept. Name your game." Jack replied. He paid little attention to the glazed look in Mary's eyes.

"The first to get their coloured sheep through three gates and into their pen wins." Mary announced.

"Let's Go! Xiaolin Showdown!"

The landscape changed, spliting Jack and Mary onto different platforms. On Jack's platform was a band of black coloured sheep. On Mary's was a band of white coloured sheep.

**"Gong Yi Tanpai!"**

On their vantage point, Garnet lowered her hand and stumbled slightly. "Now look what you've done! Mary's not going to know what's happening!" Puss scolded. Garnet shook herself.

"She could lose the wu." Omi sounded fearful. Garnet waved off the monks worries.

"She'll be fine. They don't call her the Rosa Shepardess for nothing."

Mary looked round in a daze, wondering just what was going on. "What? What happened?" Jack was already trying to get his sheep to move.

"Come on! Get through the gate already." They instead continued to graze and stare at him. One turned to face Jack and began to nibble on his trouser leg. A single noise from one her sheep caused Mary to smiled brightly. She opened her mouth and let out a low sweet sounding whistle.

Almost instant her sheep stood to attention. To the monks surprise, Mary led her sheep through the gates and into their pen without using her wu or without a single fuss from the sheep. Jack's sheep had taken to crowding him into one corner. When Mary closed the gate to the pen, the scene changed back instantly.

"That's gotta be the fast showdown ever." Clay commented. Mary looked at the monks, Puss and Garnet before another sound broke their attention.

"Get this thing off me!" Jack complained. Sitting on his stomach was a tiny lamb. Mary's face brightened up.

"Clover!" The lamb bleated loudly and dashed off towards it's master. Mary pulled the lamb into her arms and hugged it tightly.

* * *

The monks returned to the temple with their wu and Mary. She stared in amazment at the building before looking back at Garnet. "How did I end up in that situation? I don't remember anything." Garnet scratched the back of her head.

"Well when the wu fell into your hands along with Jack Spicer's, I had to do something. I sort of took over your mind to issue to the challenge. Sorry."

Mary smiled and shook her head. "It's fine. I'm just glad you chose a challenge that I could do." Mary looked at the monks. "And who are your friends?"

Omi introduced themselves. "And what is your name?"

"Mary Bo Peep. The Shepardess of the Rosa Kingdom." Mary informed. Kimiko and Clay looked at each other. "Is something wrong?"

"Mary had a little lamb?" Kimiko ventured. Mary pointed to Clover to the lamb.

"Little Bo Peep had lost her sheep?" Clay added. Mary frowned deeply and shook her head.

"I have never lost a sheep in my life." She replied. Mary turned to Garnet. "I wish to return home. I miss my house so much."

"Okay." Garnet placed Kimiko's open book down on the grass. "Just step onto the book. It should take you back home."

"I'll go first." Puss stated. Garnet rolled her eyes. "Just in case. Wouldn't want anything bad to happen to you." Puss smiled. Garnet pretended to gag. Mary tickled Puss behind his ear.

"You're sweet." Puss grinned and stepped onto the book. In a flash he was gone. The book's contents page held a single entry. Mary scooped up his lamb and followed. The content page held two seperate entries; **Puss in Boots** and **Mary had a little lamb.**


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5: The Golden Child and The Beanstalk**

That night, while the dragons and the temple slept, Garnet stood outside watching the sky. She knew beyond the clouds lay the Sky Kingdom. It was just a matter of time before the king decided to visit the land once more.

It didn't take a genius or a telepathic to figure out that Jack's arrival would bring a wu to light.

Dojo was peacefully snoozing in a small bonsai tree when Garnet tried to wake him up. "Dojo. You need to get up."

The little dragon grunted and rolled over. "Can't a dragon get any sleep around here?" He cursed. Garnet shook the tree again.

"Dojo. This is important." She urged. Dojo opened one eye.

"What's so important?"

"I need a location for one of your Shen-gong-wu." Garnet informed. Dojo opened both eyes in surprise. He sat up and placed his hands on his none existent hips.

"You think I an just locate them out of thin air? When they become activ-" Dojo began to sneeze. Garnet moved a fraction to avoid the spray that came from him.

"You have a pollen sickness?" Garnet inquired. Dojo shook his head and sneezed again. "You sure?"

"I'm sneezing because..." Dojo jumped from the tree, shaking as he did so "**SHEN-GONG-WU!**"

"Ah man! Right at breakfast too." Raimundo complained. Garnet had already climbed aboard Dojo.

"Stay here then. I'll go on my own." Garnet looked over to Kimiko. "But I'll need your book. Just in case."

"You will not!" Omi raced out and jumped on the dragon behind Garnet. "You are not a dragon. We will claim the wu." He stated.

Garnet rolled her eyes. "Whatever short stuff."

* * *

The ride back to England remained quiet and uneventful. This did nothing to calm Garnet's nerves. "So this wu?" Kimiko began breaking the silence. Raimundo unrolled the scroll.

"The vine crown allows the user to summon vines that ensnare the opponent." Dojo informed. Suddenly, out of nowhere, a large thick green object shot up. Dojo swivelled at the last second causing everyone to hold on tight.

"Dojo!" Kimiko yelled.

"Hold on!" More and more objects shot up from the ground. From above came an animalistic battle cry. From down below someone was calling out a name. Garnet looked up then looked down.

"Dojo. Take the dragons down to the ground. Now." Before anyone could reply, Garnet slid off the dragon.

"She's crazy then a jam craving hornet." Clay gasped. Dojo swirled down the thick vine to the floor.

Above Garnet grabbed hold of a vine and pulled herself up to a strong branch. She had barely enough time to grab her swords when the king of the Sky Kingdom came crashing down. On top of his head was a crown.

"I'll have your head freak!" Jack spat.

"Bring it!" Swords and axe clashed loudly.

Down at the bottom, the dragons disembarked. "Is the wu round 'ere?" Clay asked. Dojo shook his head.

"It's up there. I think someone's wearing it." He answered.

"Then we've got to get up there." Kimiko stepped closer to the thick trunk, only to have several vines snap at her. The dragons unleashed their elements and wu but nothing seemed to faze the vines. One wrapped round Kimiko's ankle and pulled her into the air. "Hey! Put me down!"

The male dragons rushed to their friend's aid. High above the sound of clashing metal grew louder. Behind the monks the brushes began to rustle.

"I think we've got company." Dojo warned. Clay turned round to defend his friends. Instead of a horrifying monster, a innocent brown haired female barrelled out of the brush. She took one look at the vine that had Kimiko and rushed to help.

The monks surprise the girl simply placed her hand against the vine. It shook, withered and died. Kimiko easily landed on her feet. "Who are you?" Omi asked. The girl looked up at the sound of metal.

"Jack?" The monks looked up. Both Garnet and the beanstalk king were making their way down to the bottom of the beanstalk. From their position, the dragons could see the wu sitting on the king's head.

Garnet managed to catch the king unaware and tore the crown from his head. "Heads up!" She called and threw the crown down to the dragons.

"I have it!" Omi called cheerfully, trying to judge where it would fall. The beanstalk king head butted Garnet and rose one hand.

The ground beneath the dragons and the girl began to shake. Before anyone could move, beanstalks shot up from the ground. Everyone found themselves on a different leaf but all where heading to the same place; the clouds. As the wu crown past Garnet, the king grabbed the wu before climbing back up the beanstalk.

"Jack!" Garnet rushed up after him.

* * *

When the beanstalks stopped growing, the dragons found themselves in a strange new place. Instead of clouds, there was a giant kingdom. A gold walkway led towards the castle gates.

"How does this place stay afloat?" Raimundo asked more to himself.

"It's magic." The monks turned to the female. "My name is Bianca." She greeted. Bianca looked back sadly at the kingdom. "I use to live here."

"You use to live here?" Kimiko gasped.

"Why'd you leave?" Clay asked. Bianca played with the end of her cardigan.

"I didn't want to leave. Both myself and my mother was forced out of the castle by it's new king." Bianca dabbed her eyes. "We use to live here in peace and had everything we wanted. Then my brother returned and threw us out."

"Why?"

"I don't know." Bianca looked at the dragons in turn. "I know it is not his own doing. I'm going to fix this."

"That thing you did." Dojo began. Bianca tilted her head to one side. "You touched the vine and it stopped. How did you do that?"

"I am-"

"Look out!" Clay grabbed hold of Bianca and pulled her out of harm's way. Garnet slid into view; kicking up gravel before coming to a stop in the middle of the dragons. One of her swords was stained with blood.

"Did you hurt Jack?" Bianca asked. Garnet looked at her briefly before looking away.

"I don't want to but if he insists on trying to kill _me_, I have no choice." She remarked. Bianca pulled herself from Clay's grip and placed her hands on Garnet's arm.

"Please! I can fix this. I can sort all this out. Don't hurt him." She begged. Garnet looked at Bianca but said nothing. Her eyes widened slightly.

"So it is true."

"What? What's true?" Raimundo demanded. Garnet shook her head and turned back to the castle.

"Jack threw me out but I know where he's got the crown wu." She pointed to something in the distance. "There's a vault where the kingdom's treasure is kept. It'll be unguarded." Garnet grabbed Bianca's hand and began to drag her towards the caslte.

"Where are you going?" Dojo called.

"The Golden Child and I have a date with a king." Before the dragons could question further, Garnet and Bianca disappeared from sight. The friends looked at each other before shrugging and heading over to the vault.

True to Garnet's words, the vault door was unguarded. The only things standing to attention were two puppets dressed in armor. Kimiko shivered. "Doors locked." Raimundo muttered.

"Let me 'ave a look." Clay sized the door up. Calling his element, he punched the wooden door hard. It splittered and shuddered before opening. One of the puppet guards toppled and landed on Kimiko who screamed in fright.

The vault was filled with all sorts of treasures. Sat on a single predastool was the crown wu. The dragons made their way slowly towards it. Suddenly Jack came crashing through the wall of the vault and slammed into the pedastool. The wu toppled over into the path of the dragons who quickly snatched it up. Garnet walked through the rubble of the vault wall followed by Bianca.

"Stop it! He's finished!" She cried. Jack of the beanstalk stood up weakly. "Jack! Please! Stop this." Bianca pleaded. Jack ignored her.

The dragons could now finally see who Jack was. He was, to their surprise, no older then themselves. He wour his battle scars proudly and had a nasty looking scar over one eye. Half of his light brown hair had been clippered to the scalpe.

"Can someone please tie him up so I don't have to deal with him." Garnet hissed. The dragons took this as a cue and Omi placed the crown on his head. Jack noticed Omi's actions and turned weakly towards the young monk.

"That is my crown. Remove it from your head this instant! I am king of the beanstalk! You will obey me!

"Vine Crown!" The wu glowed brightly. Vines shot out of the ground and tied Jack up.

"Let me go! I demand that you untie me this instance!" Jack screamed. The group crowded round him.

"Now what?" Dojo asked. Bianca knelt down next to Jack.

"Brother please. Stop this now. What would mother think?" She pleaded. Jack merely snarled at her and tried to untie himself. Bianca looked up at Garnet and the monks. "What are you doing to do?"

"Send you back home." Garnet held out her hand towards Kimiko. The fire dragon handed over her book. Garnet opened to the middle and placed the book on the floor. "Simply stand on the book. It'll do the rest."

"And my brother?"

"He'll follow." Bianca nodded her head and stood up. She sent one last look at her brother before stepping onto the book. She disappeared in a flash of light. "Cowboy? If you'd be so kind." Garnet smiled. Clay effortlessly picked up Jack and set him down on the book. No sooner had he disappeared, the vault began to tremble.

"What's going on?" Omi called. The trembling grew with each passing second.

"Ah."

"Ah? What do you mean _Ah_?" Kimiko snapped. Garnet ignored her and looked directly at Dojo.

"You might want to turn into your full form."

* * *

Jack Spicer grumbled up the way up the beanstalk. He wouldn't have decided to fly up it but his wu detector was pointing him towards the sky. So far he hadn't seen the Xiaolin dragons or the strange woman from before. Jack hoped he would get the wu.

"Incoming!"

Jack looked up as a shadow fell over him. He only then noticed that the beanstalk was falling down. The boy genius opened his arms to have Garnet land in them. "Nice catch boy." She greeted.

Jack blushed, then coughed. "Who you calling a boy?"

"You." Garnet paused and looked up. Above the pair Dojo was rescuing the dragons. "Maybe I should have warned them earlier." She mused. Jack hovered in the air as the beanstalk fell and crumbled into nothing.

"Just who the hell are you?"

"Hmm?" Garnet looked back at Jack. "Garnet Chambers and you may want to move."

"Wh-" The spine of Kimiko's book landed right on Jack's head knocking him out. He let go of Garnet who began to fall to the ground. Jack's body fell faster. Before either hit the floor, Dojo caught them just in time.

"That was close." Garnet grinned. The monks all glare at her. "What?"

"You could have warned us!" Kimiko yelled. Garnet shrugged her shoulders and climbed onto Dojo's back.

"Guess in all the excitment I forgot." Garnet opened the fairy tale book to find two new entries.

**The Golden Child** and **Jack and the Beanstalk.**


	6. Chapter 6

_A big thank to ZJohnson for all of her reviews!_

* * *

**Chapter 6: The song of the sea**

That afternoon, after a belated lunch, the dragons were sent to training. Garnet had bandaged herself up and was now sat on the temple roof. She watched the dragons during their training, noting how very little was different between the monks and the The sun dragon monks of her home world.

Of course this thought made Garnet homesick, so she dismissed the thought. But Garnet's thoughts naturally did not obey her and the telekinetic wondered where the other residents were.

Garnet and the dragons slept well that night.

"I've been meaning to ask." Kimiko began over breakfast the next morning. Garnet did not look up. "What is a Golden Child?"

"They say a long time ago, a goddess was held captive against her will. A young child fought for their release and won. The goddess gifted the child a single gift. They became immune to all types of magic." Garnet paused to eat. The monks held onto her every word. "The child's descendants inherited the gift. On a full silver moon night, when in contact with a magical object, the child glows. This heralds in a new Golden Child."

"Bianca and Jack were siblings, right?" Raimundo asked. Garnet nodded her head. "Why didn't Jack become a Golden Child too?"

Garnet shrugged her shoulders. "The gift has a mind of it's own." Garnet's attention turned to the kitchen window sharply. She paid little attention to Dojo as he announced a new Shen-gong-wu. Somewhere outside Garnet was sure she had heard singing. "The song of the siren." Garnet mused.

* * *

"Next stop: Denmark." Dojo informed as they flew through the air. Kimiko pursed her lips in thought.

"If you keep making that face Kimi, you'll get wrinkles." Raimundo joked. Kimiko elbowed him roughly in the side.

"I think I've worked something out." Everyone looked at her. "The residents of Garnet's home world are appearing where their story came from."

"Huh?"

"The gods said to you that the wu are linked to the people of your world, right?"

"In so many words. Yeah." Garnet agreed.

"Dojo said that the wu is called the mermaid horn. Logically that leads us to The Little Mermaid."

"And what's that got to do with Denmark?" Raimundo scoffed.

"The story first came from Denmark."

"But what if it is not this mermaid you speak of?" Omi questioned.

"We'll find out right now." Garnet called as Dojo began to descend.

The group had arrived at a beach. There were very few people out. Oddly enough there was a chill in the air. The monks moved towards a cluster of rock pools with Dojo as their guide. Garnet hung back; keeping her eyes peeled.

Garnet turned sharply. "That pretty red head is coming." She warned. Sand kicked up in the dragon's faces as Jack arrived.

"Why hello there losers."

"Did you just call Jack a pretty red head?" Kimiko asked ignoring the big genius. Garnet nodded her head.

"He is pretty." Jack began to turn crimson.

"I'm not falling for that. **DOJOBOT ATTCK**!"

"Dojobot?" Out from the sand came a giant blue version of Dojo. "That's a big robot." Clay commented.

"It looks nothing like me." Dojo sniffed. The bot launched at the dragons, sending them off in different directions. The bot splashed it's tail in the water sending a tidal wave which washed over Jack.

"Perfect. Just perfect." Jack complained trying to wring out his coat. With the dragons and Garnet busy with his bot, Jack took off in search of the wu.

The dragons made quick work of the Dojobot and left the ruins in the sand.

"Where's Jack?" Raimundo asked.

"I think I saw him fly over there." Garnet replied pointing to a second rocky outcrop. The group ran over; cursing the sand for making it difficult.

"Do you hear that?" Clay asked suddenly. The others listened hard. Aside from the crashing waves, the group picked up the sound of crying.

"Someone's hurt!" Kimiko gasped. "Behind the outcrop." The monks raced over while Garnet trailed behind.

Around the side of the rocky outcrop lay a young woman. She had bright auburn hair that fell round her face. She was dressed in a black outfit. There was also blood on the sand.

"Miss? Are you okay?" Clay called. The woman looked up; her unnatural purple eyes shining with tears.

"Please help me." She begged. Garnet finally joined the group and frowned at the woman.

"Oh. It's just you." Garnet began to scan the area. Kimiko dropped down to the woman.

"Don't mind her. We're here to help."

"No we're not." Garnet replied. Kimiko glared at her.

"Yes we are." She countered. Garnet pointed to something in the distance.

"Not unless you want that pretty red head to take your wu." The dragons looked into the distance. Jack was holding the item above his head and cheering.

"Whose the best now? Jack Spicer! That's who!" He cheered.

"Too late." Garnet shook her head. Jack hovered over the dragons with his prize.

"That's what you at when you go to help someone Xiaolin losers." Jack held the weapon high. "Mermaid's Horn!"

Deep within the sea, something rocked. The waves parted and a hulking monster slid onto the beach. The group stared in horror at the giant octopus.

"Huh? I thought I'd have a new power or something." Jack whined. Garnet readied her swords.

"I'll deal with this." Before the dragons could argue, Garnet ran to face the octopus. Raimundo glared up at Jack.

"Give us that wu!"

Jack blew a raspberry at them. "Finders keepers, losers get turned into octo treats. Later losers!" And with that Jack was gone.

The dragons looked back at Garnet who fought hard against the octopus. "We need to get you out of here." Kimiko muttered.

"I can't walk. My legs..." The woman replied. Clay picked her up bridal style and carried her off the beach. "Thank you."

The cowboy placed the girl on a nearby bench. "How did you get way out here?" Omi asked.

"This is my kingdom." The woman paused before shaking her head. "Well it is and it isn't. It's different." The dragons looked at each other before turning back to see if they could see Garnet. The octopus had retreated back to the sea. Garnet walked up to the group covered in ink.

"Bloody thing." She cursed. When Garnet saw the girl, she sighed louder. "Should have just bloody left you but no! We're the Xiaolin dragons. We'd protect the innocent."

"But we do." Omi argued.

"Why do you have to be so mean? She's injured." Kimiko snapped.

"Christine was aware of the pain. The sea witch told her that it would be painful to walk, to dance. Didn't stop her." The dragons looked back at Christine.

"You're not actually hurt?" Clay asked. Christine looked away.

"The sea witch said it would be painful. Walking and dancing. I do it anyway. I'd do anything for my prince." She whispered sadly. Garnet pointed a ink stained sword at the girl.

"Christine here isn't innocent."

"How would you know?" Raimundo challenged. Garnet wiped her swords and put them away.

"All merpeople are the same."

"Wait. She's _the_ mermaid?" Dojo asked.

"Was."

"Is and will always be one too." Garnet replied. To her surprise, the dragons took a step back from Christine. "Was it something I said?"

"We've had a bad experience with a mermaid before." Kimiko replied. Christine pouted.

"But I'm not like the other merpeople." She argued.

"No. They wouldn't have sold their kind out to a sea witch." Garnet spat. The dragons looked at Christine. "Want my advice? You should have stuck to option one."

"You sold your people to evil?" Omi questioned. It was clear on his face that he simply couldn't understand.

"I had no choice."

"You had plenty of choice!" Garnet yelled. "You had two choices. Lose your voice for the sake of your legs,"

"There was a time limited. I want to stay this way forever." Christine cried out.

"Or sell your people to the sea witch for legs. You took option two. Mom, dad, thirteen sisters and every subject of the sea king."

"I wanted a happy ending! I wanted my prince!"

"What about Sarah?" Garnet suddenly asked. Christine's hysterics stopped and she suddenly looked guilty.

"Whose Sarah?" Clay inquired.

"A dancer. Wonderful woman. The prince of the seaside kingdom was going to ask for her hand. But she was gifted a pair of white shoes. When Sarah put them on, she found she couldn't take them off. Could stop dancing. And this little mermaid-" Garnet pointed to Christine. "Cut off Sarah's feet in order to help her."

"I did help her." Christine argued in a small voice.

"And now Sarah is a cripple." There was a look of disgust on Garnet's face. "Because of you, the dragons lost their wu and I'm fast losing my temper. So-" Garnet held out her hand to which Kimiko handed over her fairytale book. "You're gonna be a good fish and go back home."

Christine looked back at Garnet with cold indifferences. It was like she was a whole new person. "Always trying to be the big hero." She mocked.

"I don't try to be anything. I'm just me." Garnet hissed back. Christine rolled her eyes.

"You could have done something. You could have stop that boy from stealing their _wu_." Christine stood up from the bench. She winced but bit back the pain. "No wonder your parents abandoned you, you telepathic freak."

"Yeah?" Garnet took a step forward and placed the book on the floor in front of Christine. "Well at least I didn't sell my family out and turned a girl into a cripple."

"No, I guess not." Christine gave a sickly sweet smile. "You're just destined to live out your life alone, abandoned and feared."

"Go home or I'll do some damage to your pretty face." Garnet warned. The dragons became fearful of the tension in the air. Garnet, it seemed, was incredibly scary when she wanted to be. Christine scoffed but gingerly tiptoed onto the book. She was gone in a flash.

The book's context page held a new entry; **The Little Mermaid**.


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter 7: Beyond the Briars**

Kimiko found Garnet in the kitchen, cleaning her swords. The fire dragon placed her laptop on the table and turned it to face Garnet. The vessel rose an eyebrow.

"What is that?"

"It's a map of the world." Kimiko replied. Garnet placed one sword down on the table.

"I know what a map is. I'm talking about your magic box."

"It's a laptop." Garnet poked the object.

"The hell kind of sorcery is this?" Kimiko bit her lip to stop herself from laughing. She coughed politely.

"I need to clear something up. There was something Christine said yesterday."

Garnet stared at Kimiko. "And you trust that mermaid?"

"Regardless. Christine said that Denmark was her kingdom but wasn't. I have a theory but you need to confirm it for me."

"You're just full of ideas and theories. Why is it always you?" Kimiko crossed her arms over her chest.

"You really think the boys will have any idea? Someone's got to have an idea." Garnet grinned and the pair burst out laughing.

"So..." Garnet wiped her eyes. "This idea?"

"Can you pinpoint where the kingdoms are?" Kimiko moved to stand behind Garnet. The telepathic stared at the laptop screen.

"I can pinpoint some. Here-" Garnet pointed to a large section that included Denmark. "-is the Seaside Kingdom."

"So Christine was right. It was her kingdom."

"After a fashion. Here-" Garnet next pointed to England. "-is the Rosa kingdom."

"All of it?" Garnet nodded her head. She then pointed to China and made a circle around it, Korea and Japan.

"The kingdom of the Rising Sun." Garnet moved her finger and pointed at France. "The Briar kingdom."

"It's so small." Kimiko commented. This brought the boys into the kitchen.

"What is so small?" Omi asked innocently. Raimundo and Clay stared at the girls.

"Just what are you looking at?" Clay inquired. Kimiko held her hands up.

"It isn't what you think. " she looked back at Garnet. "Any other kingdoms?" Garnet stared hard at the computer screen. She suddenly pointed to Antarctica.

"The Ice kingdom but..." Garnet peered at the screen. "It's looks too small. The kingdom is much bigger the that." Garnet looked up at Kimiko. "I can't pinpoint the others. Sorry."

Kimiko smiled warmly. "It's okay. You've proven my theory right. The residents from your world aren't appearing in places where their stories began. They're appearing in the places that look like their kingdoms." Kimiko explained.

* * *

It was five minutes past midnight when Dojo alerted the dragons to a new wu. Kimiko yawned loudly and rubbed her eyes. "Why now? I was having a really good dream." She complained

Garnet however seemed ready for anything. "Where are we going?"

"France." Kimiko and Garnet looked at each other. Raimundo noticed.

"What? You two know something?" He asked.

"We'll let you know." The dragons climbed aboard Dojo and set off.

Dojo landed in small village in France that had made it's home next to a forest. The residents were all sleeping; something Kimiko was greatly missing at that point. Although the village seemed peaceful, there was something out of place.

"What's with all the vines?" Dojo questioned on top of Clay's hat. Garnet shook her head.

"They're not vines. They're briars."

"What the differences?" Clay yawned. Garnet traced the briars back to the forest. There was millions of them; all coming from each different house.

"Because these have thorns." Garnet muttered. Kimiko walked over to a clump that was sat on a water fall.

"They're blooming. Look!" The briars were indeed blooming. Big black rose heads opened their petals to the moon. When the boys stepped closer to the flowers, they closed instantly and the briars shook.

"Don't touch the briars." Garnet warned. She turned back to the houses. "Why was everyone pricked? Why not just the men?" She asked ins whisper.

"Do you know who left these?" Omi called. Garnet nodded her head.

"Talia Rose." Garnet spun round to face the dragons. "You guys wait here and don't touch anything. If that red head comes, tell him not to go in the forest. Me and Kimiko will get the wu."

"What? Why?" Raimundo spluttered.

"The person responsible for the briars hates men. You won't be abled to make it past." Garnet explained. The dragons looked at each other.

"And we're suppose to stand out in the open?"

"As long as you don't come into contact with them. If they attack, fight then off." Garnet looked at Kimiko and motioned to the forest. The dragon and the vessel headed to the entrance. To Kimiko's surprise the briar covering the entrance, moved apart for them.

* * *

Kimiko remained silent as they walked through the forest. However her unanswered questions were desperate to make themselves known. "Who is Talia Rose?"

"Princess of the Briar kingdom. Cursed to sleep for a hundred years and only true love's first kiss will wake her up." Garnet explained. Kimiko suddenly stopped.

"You mean Sleeping Beauty?"

"I guess."

"Then why name her Talia? Her name is Aurora." Kimiko argued. Garnet shook her head.

"Not in my world. The princess was named Talia Rose." Garnet scouted out the area. "Come on. We don't have time to waste."

"Dojo said the Rose Sceptre controls briars. Is that how she's doing it?"

"Talia was gifted with magic by her godmothers. One gave her the ability to use and draw energy from the briars."

"There's just one more thing." Garnet stopped walking and turned to Kimiko. "Why does she hate men?"

Garnet felt torn. She didn't know whether or not to tell Kimiko the reason. If she did, it would ruin Kimiko's view of Sleeping Beauty. In the end Garnet told the tale to Kimiko, who replied with a gasp and her hands flew up to her mouth.

"Now you know. You can't breath a word about this. Very few people know what really happened." Garnet stated.

"But how do you know?"

"I read her mind." Garnet shrugged. "Didn't mean to do it of course. Just happened. Talia doesn't know that I know, so don't let on." Kimiko nodded her head and the duo continued on into the forest.

The briars led the girls to a lone cave deep in the forest. As Garnet and Kimiko got closer, the briars parted allowing the girls to enter. Kimiko and Garnet edged their way into the cave.

From the back there was a flicker of light. Garnet motioned to Kimiko who nodded. They edged further in to find a black haired female sitting on the cold stone floor. Garnet licked her bottom lip.

"Your highness?"

Princess Talia Rose looked up. There was a deep scowl on her face. "What do you want?" She growled.

"Your highness. I've come to take you home." Kimiko wondered why the princess was dressed as a peasant.

"Did my father send you?" Garnet and Kimiko shook their heads. Talia's scowl increased. "I will not return home."

"Not to the castle. To your cottage. This world is not save for you." Garnet stated. Talia quirked an eyebrow at the sword weilder.

"I seem to be doing just fine."

"Okay, let me rephrase that. This world is not save with you in it." Garnet replied. The reply caused Talia to smile briefly. "I have a way to send you back. The king won't even know about it."

Talia nodded her head towards Kimiko. "What about her?"

"I came for the Rose Sceptre." Kimiko replied. The item sat next to Talia's skirt. The Briar Princess looked at it briefly before picking it up and handing it over. Kimiko gingerly took it off her.

"I have no use for it." Talia's attention drifted to the briars and two began to retreat back into the cave. Garnet also picked up on the action. None of the females said anything until a single loud shriek pierced the air. Kimiko's blood ran cold.

"Jack?"

Jack Spicer yelled again as the brairs pulled him in. He tried to grab hold of something into the ground but the briars were too strong. Kimiko grabbed hold of his wrists and pulled. The briars tugged back; easily dragging both towards Talia.

"I thought I told the boys not to let you in." Garnet grumbled. Jack let out another shriek. Kimiko tugged again.

"No time for that. Help me!" She replied. Garnet stood on the briars but even that did little to stop them. As a last ditch measure Garnet held out her hand. Using her telekinesis, Garnet brought the briars to a shuddering stop.

"You dare try to stop me?" Talia rose to her feet. Garnet did not back down.

"Your highness. I don't wish to hurt you." This caused Talia to let out a bark of laughter. "Let him go. Let me help you return home. You don't need to kill him."

"All men are the same."

"Not all men." Kimiko grunted in the background. She tried to tug Jack free but the briars still refused to give. Garnet and Talia continued to stare at each other.

"You killed the one person responsible. This guy hasn't even met you. Your Highness. Just let him go." Garnet pleaded. There was tense silence. Finally Talia let out a sigh. The two briars unwrapped themselves from Jack's legs and returned to Talia. The other briars that led to the village also returned. Garnet lowered her hand.

"I have no need for this place. It bores me." Talia turned to face Garnet fully. "I wish to return home."

"Of course you highness." Kimiko handed over her book to which Garnet laid it out on the floor. Talia said nothing as she stepped onto the book and was gone in a flash.

The context page held a new entry: **Sleeping Beauty**.


	8. Chapter 8

_Thank you to ZJohnson for all of her reviews!_

* * *

**Chapter 8: The Snow Queen**

When Garnet, Kimiko and Jack left the forest, Garnet marched straight over to the Xiaolin boys. "I thought I told you to keep him out."

"We didn't even know Jack had gone in." Clay replied. Dojo nodded his head.

"Heard him scream but we didn't know where he was." Garnet blinked then looked back at Jack.

"Didn't you come through the entrance?" Jack shook his head.

"I flew in from the top. Well tried too but I got grabbed." He informed. Garnet slapped her forehead and muttered something under her breath.

"Oh well. At least you're safe."

"Whatever. Doesn't mean I owe you or anything." Jack sniffed. He went to fly off but Garnet grabbed his coat.

"Excuse me but I think you do. Without me or Kimiko, the princess would have killed you."

"So?" The dragons knew Jack was trying to put on a brave face.

"Common courtesy." Garnet insisted. Instead Jack pulled himself free and flew off. Garnet pursed her lips together as she watched. "He always like that?"

"Yeah."

* * *

The rest of the day became slow due to the early rise. Kimiko and Garnet spent their time pouring over a large map that Kimiko had printed out. With Garnet's help, the fire dragon was able to mark most of the kingdoms.

"So from here to here-" Kimiko drew a large dark blue circle that had Antarctica right in the middle. "-is where the Ice Kingdom is."

"Yeah." Garnet looked over the map and tried to remember where the other kingdoms were.

"Have you traveled to them all?"

"Not yet. I usually hop from one place to another. If I'm called to a certain area, I'll travel there." Garnet stretched reminding Kimiko of a cat in the sun. Running footsteps broke the girls' concentration.

"Rai?" Kimiko sat up as Raimundo barrelled round a corner.

"There's a new wu." He announced. The girls packed up their work and followed Raimundo to Dojo. The little dragon was about to explain the wu.

"The false bracelet will portray the negative aspects of the wearer." Dojo began.

"Wow. That sounds like a terrible wu." Clay muttered. He glanced over to Garnet who was shaking her head. "Something wrong partner?"

"The false mirror."

"You mean bracelet." Omi corrected. Garnet bit her bottom lip.

"The false mirror was shattered in the Ice Kingdom by the Snow Queen. The mirror could only show the ugly and negative aspects of a person."

"Like the bracelet!" Kimiko gasped.

"The only way for it to work like the mirror is if there is a shard of the mirror inside it." Garnet shook her head again. "But the only way for that to happen is if the shard pass through a portal reflux."

"I thought you said you couldn't mess with a portal reflux." Raimundo pointed out.

"People can't. Items could possibly pass through." Garnet answered.

"Regardless. We cannot let it fall into evil hands. It needs to be recovered." Omi turned to Dojo. "Where is the wu?"

"Spitsbergen." Dojo answered. Garnet began to chuckle.

"That sounds like it belongs to the Ice Kingdom." The dragons looked at Garnet.

"The area will be cold right?" Clay began. Garnet shrugged her shoulders.

"If the Snow Queen is there, then I imagine so. Why?"

"Aren't you going to be cold dressed like that?" Kimiko asked. Garnet looked down at her outfit.

"Come to think of it. Yeah." Omi's face suddenly lit up and he dashed into the temple. He was gone for a few seconds and when he returned, the little monk was carrying a coat.

"You can borrow this." He smiled. The coat turned out to be a simply cloak with a fur lining. Garnet took the object from Omi.

"Thank you." The group climbed around Dojo and set off to collect their new wu.

* * *

Spitsbergen was, as the group thought, cold. Snow fell softly from the sky. The group chatted excitedly.

"If we didn't have to find the wu, we could have a snowball fight." Raimundo mused. He noticed the far off look in Garnet's eyes. "I bet you're an ace at snowball fights."

"Snow bees." Garnet whispered. The dragons looked at each other. "See them?" Garnet suddenly asked. She pointed to something in the sky.

"Those are snow flurries." Clay informed. Garnet shook her head slightly.

"We call them snow bees. A cluster like that. The Queen isn't too far behind." She informed. Garnet dipped her chin in the cloak and fell silent.

Dojo finally descended into the moutains and the group disembarked. Kimiko hugged her arms round her body and shivered. "It's really cold."

"This isn't normal cold either." Garnet muttered. She knelt down and scanned the snow. "This is the Snow Queen's cold."

"Well the faster we find this wu, the faster we can leave." Clay grunted. He also hugged his arms round his body. His bulky frame shook.

"The wu is that way." Dojo pointed in one direction. The group decided to stick together and made their way carefully through the snow. The group traveled for what seemed like hours. Dojo's directions changed every so often until they came to the opening a cave. "In there!" Dojo stated. Raimundo went to rush forward when Garnet grabbed his arm.

"Wait."

"Wh-" The group all stared in shock as a large pure white wolf appeared. It's teeth were bared and it growled lowly at the group. There was a blue marking at it's forehead.

"What are we going to do?" Kimiko whispered. Raimundo readied the Sword of the storm. Garnet grabbed his wrist and squeezed.

"Don't."

"What? Why? If we don't do something, it will kill us." Raimundo argued. Garnet did not back down.

"And if you kill the wolf, the Snow Queen will have your head." Raimundo lowered the sword. "That's the Queen's personal wolf. It is against the law of the Ice Kingdom to kill it."

"But we are not in the kingdom." Omi pointed out. Before Garnet could argue further, another voice cut in.

"Nord. Stand down." The voice was cold; cold enough to cut through bone. The wolf instantly backed away and trotted towards the cave mouth. Standing there was a tall, elegantly dressed woman in white. In one hand she held a staff. Garnet bowed her head.

"Your Highness."

"It's been a long time Garnet." The Snow Queen smiled. "You don't need to bow in front me."

"I show respect to everyone. You know that." Garnet straightened up. "Are you all right?"

"A little confused." The Snow Queen looked round. The dragons wondered whether she could see anything in the blinding snow. "This feels like my kingdom. But it's not." Nord the wolf howled lowly. The Snow Queen looked back at Garnet. "I imagine the gods are aware of this."

"They are. I'm trying to fix this." Omi stepped forward.

"Please excuse us but we are looking for a wu." He interrupted. The Snow Queen frowned in confusion at the little monk. "The False Bracelet."

"A bracelet? Do you mean-" The Snow Queen reached into the folds of her dress and pulled out the wu. "This hold a piece of the False Mirror. A dangerous item. What do you plan to do with this bracelet?"

"Seal it away from evil hands." Kimiko stated.

"We won't even use it." Clay added. The Snow Queen looked at Garnet who nodded her head.

"You can trust them your highness. They will keep it hidden away." The Snow Queen nodded her head slowly and held the wu out.

"If Garnet trusts you then I will too. He-" The wu was snatched from the Queen's outstreatched hands. The hum of a helipack told the dragons all they needed to know. Raimundo turned in the direction of the sound.

"Jack! Give that back!" He yelled. Jack appeared hovering above the group.

"Ha! Not a chance!" Jack gloated. He held the wu up above his head. "All bow down to Jack Spicer! Two! I'm a roll!"

"Return that item this instance!" The Snow Queen ordered. Nord began to growl. Jack ignored both.

"See you around Xiaolin Losers!" Jack turned to leave. The Snow Queen pointed her ice staff at his helipack and a jet of ice shot forward. The helipack froze and Jack plummeted to the ground with a shriek.

Jack bounced on the snow. The Snow Queen reached out for the bracelet which was still in Jack's hand. The wu began to glow slightly. Raimundo cursed. "Garnet!"

"Way ahead of you!" As the Queen's hand touched the wu, Garnet held out her own hand. Kimiko tossed a wu towards the Queen. The Snow Queen's gaze glazed over.

"Jack Spicer. I challenge you to a Xiaolin Showdown." The Queen issued. Jack groaned and sat up.

"All right. All right. Name your game."

"Your Mermaid's Horn against my Eye of Dashi. The game is simply. The first person to spell the word enternity in the snow is the winner." Jack looked at the Queen then looked back at Garnet. He finally managed to put two and two together.

"Hey wa-"

"Let's Go! Xiaolin Showdown!"

The scene changed to show what looked like two giant chalk boards. Ice shards littered the chalk boards. Omi could easily see that the ice shards were made into chinese characters.

**"Gong Yi Tanpei!"**

Garnet stumbled backwards and shivered. "Goddamn!" She cursed and held her head. Kimiko was by her side.

"Are you okay?"

"Yeah. Yeah. I'm fine." Garnet shook her head. "The Snow Queen isn't just cold on the outside. She's freezing on the inside too." Garnet looked at the worried face of Dojo. "Don't worry Dojo. She'll be fine."

"Are you sure? Can she even read chinese?" The little dragon asked. The dragons watched the scene as Jack tried to complete the word. The Snow Queen hadn't moved.

"She's played this game before. With a young boy named Kai." Garnet blew into her hands. Nord gave out a whimper in worry. Kimiko petted the animal to calm it's nerves. Silence desended onto the group. Jack looked as though he was close to finishing the word. As he slid the next piece into place, the pieces shook and shattered. Jack was unable to complete the word.

"How the hell am I suppose to read this?" He cursed. The boy genius looked over to the Snow Queen who began to slid pieces into place. Jack tried to copy her actions but this proved fruitless.

Finally the Snow Queen slid the final piece into place and was awarded with a single ding. The scene changed and the Queen stood with three items.

"That's wasn't fair! I couldn't read any of it!" Jack whined. The Snow Queen turned and fixed Jack with a icey stare.

"If you paid attention, if you thought hard, you could have read them. Simple." the Queen walked away, making her way to the dragons. She smiled at Garnet. "You were in my head, weren't you."

"Yes. I'm sorry your highness."

"No need to be sorry. It worked in our favor." The Snow Queen handed both the Mermaid's Horn, the Eye of Dashi and the False Bracelet to the dragons. In the distance Jack's helipack spluttered as he flew away. Kimiko handed over to the story book to Garnet. "Is that how I return home?"

"If you can just step onto the book. It will send you and Nord back home." Kimiko informed. Nord joined his mistress's side. Garnet laid the book out on the snow.

"Before I go." The Snow Queen looked straight at Garnet. "You know that there is a place for you at my kingdom."

"I know. It's just-" Garnet scratched the back of her neck. "I'm a traveler. I don't feel right in one spot."

"I understand. When you stop being a traveler, come to the kingdom. You will always be welcome." The Snow Queen glanced down to Nord. "Let's go home." The wolf stepped onto the book first and disappeared. The Queen followed soon after.

A new story was added to the book; **The Snow Queen.**


	9. Chapter 9

_Thank you to ZJohnson for all of her reviews!_

* * *

**Chapter 9: Glass Slippers**

Garnet and the monks were given a few days rest when no new wu began to show itself. While the monks spent their time with chores and training, Garnet began to read through the stories they had collected.

The telekinetic had just finished the story of Sleeping Beauty. She turned the page and began to chuckle to herself. "No wonder they only see their stories through rose-tinted glasses. These stories are ridiculous." Garnet mused to herself.

Her attention fell on Dojo who was lying in a bonsai tree again. Her renewed chuckling caught the dragon's attention. "Something funny?"

"I was just thinking. In my world Dragons are feared."

"I am feared. You ever seen a dragon land in the middle of a shopping centre?" Dojo shot back.

"I can imagine the panic." Garnet moved to sit closer to the bonsai. "If you befriend a dragon, you're set for life." She added thoughtfully.

"Have you ever befriended a dragon?" Dojo asked.

"Aside from you?" Garnet shook her head. "Never had the pleasure. Demons seem more drawn to me anyway." She muttered off-handily. Dojo stared at her in shock.

The dragons slept peacefully that night. Garnet not so much. Her thoughts continued to swirl as she wondered which person they met meet next.

The problem with the whole thing was that Garnet had no idea who had arrived into the world. No one else seemed to know either.

Garnet sighed and sat up. She only hoped the twins hadn't been sucked in. The last thing she wanted for them to stick their swords in the works. Garnet frowned deeply to herself in the dark.

There was also the two mercenaries to worry about as well. Garnet wondered if the thief had hired them for protection. It wouldn't be the first time either.

Garnet climbed out of bed and got dressed. The lack of sleep wouldn't bother her. Mental training. That was all it took.

Besides Garnet figured she needed more time to figure things out.

* * *

The following morning Dojo announced the news of a new wu. Clay unrolled the wu scroll across the kitchen table.

"The pumpkin badge transforms into a mode of transport when activated." Dojo looked up to see Garnet shaking. "Hey? Are you okay?"

"I hate pumpkins." Garnet cursed. The dragons all at each other.

"You hate pumpkins?" Raimundo asked slowly. Garnet nodded her head. "What's wrong with pumpkins?"

"They remind me of Peter the pumpkin eater."

"Peter, Peter pumpkin eater?" Clay questioned. "Had a wife and couldn't keep her?"

"Oh he kept her all right. Chopped her ass up and stuff her in a pumpkin." Garnet shivered. "I had a run in with him a few years back." She pinched the bridge of her nose. "It could be nothing. Could be someone else entirely." She whispered.

"Where the wu Dojo?" Kimiko asked turning back to Dojo

"Back to France." Dojo slithered outside and turned into his full form.

* * *

When the group arrived in France, Dojo did not travel all the way through. Instead he landed on the edge of a wood where an abandoned manor house sat. The outside of the house was covered in ivy, cobwebs and looked in a general state of disrepair.

"In there?" Kimiko asked with a gulp. The boys looked at her.

"What's a matter Kimi? Scared?" Raimundo teased. Kimiko did her best to ignore them. Garnet glared at Raimundo.

"Yeah. It's inside. I think it's in the attic. Can't be sure." Dojo replied. Kimiko squared her shoulders.

"Let's get this over with." The fire dragon trotted inside the house. Garnet and the boys followed.

The inside of the house was much much worst. There wasn't an inch of space that didn't have a coating of dust. Cobwebs hung low from ceilings that Clay had to duck away from them. In front of the group was a winding staircase.

"Anything Dojo?" Omi asked. The dragon pointed to the staircase.

"Defiantly in the attic." He informed. Clay took lead with Garnet keeping the rear.

They had just got to the first landing when Garnet stopped. "What's wrong?" Clay questioned. Garnet held up a finger to silence him. She then pointed to the ceiling.

"Hear that?" She whispered. The dragons were silent.

"I don't hear anything." Raimundo scoffed.

"Wait Rai. Listen." Kimiko ordered. Suddenly, right above their heads, came a steady thumping sound. It sounded like someone was walking up and and down with a peg leg. "Who the hell could that be?" Kimiko whispered. Garnet frowned as the sound faded.

"Keep on looking."

"What? What about you?" Clay asked. Garnet rested a hand on one of her sword handles but did not look away from the ceiling.

"I'll take care of it. Go and get the wu." Garnet ordered. She then disappeared down a corridor, leaving the dragons on the landing.

Dojo led the dragons up a second flight of stairs. They stood in a small passage way where a final set of steps waited. Dojo pointed to them. "Up there. That should be the attic."

"This floor does not look safe." Omi muttered thoughtfully. He suddenly turned to Kimiko. "Perhaps you should go first Kimiko. You lack heavy muscle and should pass."

Kimiko felt her rage boil. She was tempted to smack Omi upside the head, but she didn't want to spend anymore time in the house. She gently tiptoed her way across the passage way when there came a deep groan.

"Wha-" Kimiko screamed when they the floor gave way suddenly. Kimiko's legs disappeared beneath the floor and she screamed again.

"Hold on Kimi!" Clay grabbed her arms and pulled the fire dragon up. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah. Thanks Clay."

"By the Gods! What happened?" The dragons turned to see Garnet standing at the opposite end of the passage.

"How in tarnations did you get over there?" Clay wondered hitching his hat up a fraction.

"I found a secret door. Go back to the first landing. I'll met you there." Then Garnet was gone.

True to her word, Garnet met the dragons on the first landing. She led them to a hidden door. They followed her up a flights of steps before coming to the second landing, and the stairs to the attic.

"Did you find out what was making that noise?" Raimundo asked.

"I followed the noise which was how I found the door. Whoever was moving went up to the attic." Garnet replied. The group held a collective breath before making their way up to the attic.

The attic was even smaller. Numerous objects were covered by dust sheets which did little to help. The sheets had been moth eaten.

Dojo pointed the group towards a mannequin. On the object was a pale pink dress. The pumpkin badge shone out like a sore thumb. As soon as the group tried to get near the dress, the thumping sound started up.

"Who are you?"

The group screamed and turned in sync. A blond haired woman in a beautiful blue dress stood behind then. The woman had only one leg ; the other was a peg leg.

"Goddamn it Cindy! Don't scare us like that!" Garnet cursed.

"Cindy?"

"Garnet?" _Cindy_ hobbled over to the group and pulled Garnet into a hug. "I'm so glad to see you. You're the only familiar face I've seen."

"What are you doing here all on your own?" Garnet asked as _Cindy_ pulled away.

"I don't know how I got here. I don't know anyone." _Cindy_ paused and looked at the dragons. "I thought you worked alone."

"Oh right. Cindy this is Kimiko, Raimundo, Clay, Omi and Dojo the Dragon. Guys, this is Cinderella." Cinderella smiled in greeting. "Has no one else been here Cindy?"

Cinderella shook her head. "Just me. Why are you here?"

"We have come for the pumpkin badge." Omi informed. Cinderella cast her eyes towards the item. As she did, Kimiko handed Garnet the Fairy Tale book.

"Cindy. I know you're confused and lost. I can send you back home." Garnet reassured. She placed the book on the dusty floor.

"Wait." Cinderella shuffled past the group and towards the pale pink dress. "I couldn't leave without this. My mother's wedding dress. I wanted to wear it to the ball." Cinderella choked back tears and she unpinned the badge from the dress. She turned and handed the item to Omi. "Keep it safe."

"We will." To the dragons the atmosphere had suddenly changed. Cinderella stood on the book and was gone from sight.

The book contained a new story; **Cinderella**.

* * *

"Garnet?"

"Hmm?" The said female was busy sharpening her swords. Omi shuffled on the spot. "What's wrong?"

"It's just...you called the others your highness. Why did you not called Cinderella your highness? She's a princess, isn't she?"

"Nope."

"No? But that's how the story goes." Kimiko called from a distance. The other dragons joined Omi and Garnet.

"Not in my world." Garnet held her sword up to the sun and inspected the blade. "Cindy lived with her Aunt and cousins after her mother and father died. Her aunt treated Cindy like a slave. Then the prince in the kingdom was hosting a ball. Cindy's aunt and cousins went leaving Cindy on her own." Garnet began.

"And that's when the Fairy Godmother appeared." Kimiko added. Garnet shook her head.

"She wasn't a _Fairy_ Godmother. Just a plain old Godmother." Garnet resheathed her swords. "This Godmother gave Cindy a new gown and glass slippers. Well Cindy went to the ball, the prince fell in love with her and Cindy left at midnight."

"Leaving behind her shoe." Clay interrupted. Garnet nodded her head.

"Now when the prince let Cindy try on the slipper, one of her cousins cut off her leg in a fight of rage. The Queen of the kingdom refused to let her son marry Cindy. The royal family gave Cindy a house, servants and give her a sum of money every year."

"Wait. We found Talia in France. And now we've found Cinderella." Raimundo began. Garnet grinned.

"I know where your thought is going and yes. Talia and Cindy were going to be sister-in-laws until the dismemberment." She informed. Kimiko shook her head sadly.

"Poor poor Cinderella."


	10. Chapter 10

_Thank you to ZJohnson for all of her reviews!_

* * *

**Chapter 10: Tale as old as time**

The gate to the forbidden city in China, was tall and oppressive. Garnet stared up at the gate and sighed. She wasn't sure if they could get the wu, let alone the fairytale character.

She turned back to the dragons who were deep in discussion. "So how the hell do we get in there?"

"We're working on it." Raimundo replied. Garnet huffed and looked back at the palace. As she scanned the towers, her attention was drawn to movement.

"Hey. Did you see that?"

"See what partner?"

"Up there. In that tower." Garnet squinted. "There's someone up there."

"But we cannot enter the forbidden city." Omi reminded.

"Screw that. Come on." Kimiko grabbed Garnet's arm before the telekinetic could do anything stupid.

"You can't just go in there Garnet. You could get into trouble."

"What are we going to do then?" Garnet asked. Kimiko pulled her phone into view.

"Give me 2 secs." The fire dragon hit redial and trotted off to the side. The boys joined Garnet's side.

"What the hell?"

"Kimiko's calling her dad. He's very influential." Clay explained. Omi looked back at Dojo.

"So what does this wu do, Dojo?"

Dojo, who was curled round Clay's hat, scanned the crowds. "The lotus mirror will allow the user to see 5 seconds into the future." Kimiko snapped her phone shut and walked back to the group.

"No go. Papa can't do anything." She informed sadly. The boys cursed while Garnet looked back up at the tower. A shrill sound from above caught everyone's attention. In the sky was a falcon.

"The prince is here." Garnet whispered. She looked back at the group. "The lay out of this place is pretty much the same as my world. I'm sure of it."

"Can you be sure?" Raimundo huffed. Garnet nodded her head.

"I've snuck into the palace of the Rising Sun before. There should be a secret door on the side of that tower."

"What do you mean, you have snuck in before." Omi challenged.

"Didn't you forget little one. I am, after all, a treasure hunter." Garnet grinned.

* * *

To the surprise of the dragons, Garnet's plan actually worked. She had managed to find a secret door on the side of the tower. The group quickly shuffled inside.

"Something's not right." Garnet whispered.

"What is wrong?" Omi asked. Garnet motioned to the empty corridor. "It's empty."

"Yeah. That's what worries me." Garnet looked up at Dojo. "Well?" Before the dragon could reply, the falcon from before flew through the window. It began to hiss and shriek at the group.

"Well, well. If it isn't the famous treasure hunter." The voice from behind was cold and harsh. "Looking for more things to steal?" Garnet slowly turned round and smiled sheepishly.

"Your highness." She bowed her head. The Prince of the Rising Sun, a black haired youth with a scowl on his face, held out one arm. The falcone flew past the group and landed on the Prince's arm.

"What are you doing here?"

"Prince Toho." The Dragons looked shocked at the Prince then at Garnet. "We simply wish to see the tower."

"Why?"

"To collect an item."

Prince Toho's cold eyes locked on the dragons. "And you would willing bring these young children into your world." The falcone flew off up into the rafters of the castle. The Prince pulled his katana into view and charged at Kimiko. The fire dragons froze.

Suddenly Garnet swung her arm out and the Prince smacked into a barrier. With a flick of Garnet's wrist, Prince Toho was sent sliding back across the corridor. "Get to the tower!" Garnet ordered. She pulled her own sword out.

"What about you?" Raimundo asked. Garnet stood ready as Prince Toho stood up.

"I'll be fine. You know how to send the characters back into the book." Garnet glanced at the dragons briefly. "When you've done with everything in the tower, come back down here." A battle cry from the Prince was the only warning. Garnet turned and blocked the attack. "Get going!"

The dragons ran off, following Dojo's directions to the tower.

The door to the tower had been locked tightly. It took all of Clay's might to break it down. In the background, the dragons could hear the battle raging on between Garnet and Prince Toho. The dragons did not look back and raced up the stairs of the tower.

"Where are the guards? Where is everyone?" Kimiko asked breathlessly.

"Ah don't know. Best not think about it." Clay replied. The group slammed into a second door at the top and barrelled into a small room.

The room was well furnished. The dragons looked round in amazment. There was a small single window. The only way out was through the door they had come through. "My friends! I have found the mirror!" Omi called out in glee. He walked over to a dresser where the wu sat. A whimper caught him off guard. "Show yourself!" Omi ordered.

A few seconds passed. A figure stood up and stepped out from behind a giant mirror. "What in tarnations!" Clay cursed. The dragons moved backwards sharpishly. The figure was a humanoid brown tabby cat. It was dressed in a stunning pink dress.

"I mean you no harm." The cat answered. The dragons continued to stare at her. "My name is Princess Rika."

Kimiko licked her bottom lip. "My name is Kimiko. These are my friends. Clay, Raimundo, Omi and Dojo." Kimiko looked the Princess over. "What happened to you?"

Princess Rika suddenly seemed saddened. "My curse." She whispered. "I was cursed to become a Bakeneko until true love's first kiss."

"There is a prince downstairs. Perhaps he can help." Omi stated. The sounds of battle drifted up from below. Princess Rika shook her head wildly.

"I do not love Toho! I was cursed because I love someone else and now I will never see them!" Princess Rika cried out. She hastely wiped her eyes. "Have you come to rescue me?"

"We came for your mirror." Raimundo replied. He pointing to the wu sitting on the dresser. Princess Rika picked the item up before handing it over.

"I have no need for it." The battle raged on. Kimiko pulled out the fairy tale book. "What is that?"

"A way for you to return home." Kimiko began. Princess Rika eyed the book before her attention drifted to the open tower door. Kimiko sensed that the Princess had another question. "Our friend is fighting the Prince."

"I have a request." The dragons stared at the Princess in silence. "I wish to help you beat Toho. Then I will return home." With little to go on, the dragon's agreed.

Garnet stumbled and fell to the floor. Prince Toho sneered and lashed out at her. His katana hit a barrier surronding Garnet who hastly got to her feet. "Always playing your little tricks." Toho spat.

"Look. Don't be jealous because you don't have any powers." Garnet joked.

"Who would want your powers freak." Toho charged forward. From the right, a blur slammed into Toho. "What on earth?" Toho stared in surpirse. "Princess?"

"You will stop this Toho. Stop fighting." Rika ordered. Toho pushed himself up against a wall. He dusted his clothes off.

"I do not take orders from you." The dragon's shock, Toho struck Rika across the face. The cursed Princess fell to the floor. "Go back to your tower." Toho barely dodged Kimiko's element.

"How dare you!" Kimiko seethed. Toho regarded her coldly. "What has she ever done to you?" Kimiko spat. From the side Garnet sent a broze object hurtling toward Toho.

"Sh-" There came a loud clank as the object contected and Toho fell to the ground. Garnet let out a loud sigh of relief as Kimiko ran to Rika's aid.

"Your highness? Are you okay?" Rika nodded her head and stood shakily to her feet.

"Do you have the wu?" Garnet inquried. Omi held the wu up. Garnet resheathed her sword and nodded her head. "Okay. Let's get this ass home."

"What about the falcone?" Dojo asked. At the mention of the bird, the falcone flew down to the floor near Toho's body. Kimiko placed the fairy tale book on the floor.

"Hopefully the falcone will follow." Garnet mused. She silently watched Rika step onto the book and disappear from sight. "Cowboy. If you'd be so kind." Clay easily picked up Toho and set him down on the book. He too disappeared. The falcone cired out before hopping on the book. When the bird disappeared, the area changed leaving little time for the group to make a quick get away.

As they flew back home, Kimiko opened her book to see a new story; **Beauty and the Beast**.


	11. Chapter 11

_Thank you to ZJohnson for all of her reviews!_

* * *

**Chapter 11: Roses are Red, Snow is White**

"I remember where another kingdom is." Garnet suddenly explained during breakfast the next morning. She pulled out the printed map and laid it out on the table. Garnet pointed to Germany. "The Apple Kingdom."

"The what?" Raimundo choked in disbelief. "You actually have a kingdom called The Apple Kingdom? I thought Puss was making it up."

"It's not the offcial title of the kingdom. It was a nickname that stuck. No one remembers the real name anymore." Garnet explained.

"But why Apple?" Omi asked.

"It's their main source of income. They grow apple trees of all types and sell them far and wide." Garnet replied. Dojo slithered into the room and looked over the map.

"Funny. That's where we're heading now." He muttered, looking at Germany. Garnet seemed excited by the news.

"A Shen-gong-wu?" Dojo nodded his head and unrolled the scroll across the map.

"The Snow Rose bow allows the user to create and harness energy arrows, and it's located in Germany." Dojo informed.

"You know, I've been wondering. Just how do you know what country a wu is in?" Garnet asked. Dojo shrugged.

"I just know."

* * *

The journey to Germany was peppered with small talk. Dojo landed in a heavily forested area and the group disembarked. Kimiko noticed a look of confusion on Dojo's face. "Something wrong?"

"It's odd." Dojo scratched his chin. "The wu is giving out two signals. Like it's been broken or something."

"That doesn't sound good." Clay muttered.

"Where is the first signal coming from?" Omi asked. Dojo pointed off in one direction.

"That way."

The group followed Dojo's direction until they came to a clearing. The wu was hidden from sight. Garnet stood still as the dragons searched. "We're being watched." Garnet warned. The dragons tensed up.

"I think I've found the wu." Raimundo called. Before anyone could stop him, Raimundo moved closer to a brush. As he parted the leaves, Raimundo found himself staring down an arrow tip. "Erm...Hi."

"Oh my goodness!" The arrow tip disappeared. "I'm so sorry. I thought you were a drawf." Raimundo stepped back. A young female stepped out from the brushes. The female had raven black hair and doe like brown eyes. Surprisingly her lips were a deep red. She was dressed in a blue, yellow and brown combo.

"A drawf?" Kimiko began to giggle to herself. Raimundo glared at her. Garnet frowned deeply to herself in thought.

"I am Princess Snow White but you may call me Snow." The female greeted. Kimiko stopped giggling and looked the bow wielding female over. "I am very sorry if I frightened you. Or if I insulted you."

"The seven assassins of the Jewel Mountain." Garnet suddenly blurted out.

"Seven assassins?" Clay asked. Snow White stared in shock at Garnet.

"You know of the assassins?" Garnet nodded her head. Snow White fiddled with her bow. "Perhap we should continue this conversation inside my hut." The group followed Snow White through the forest to a small wooden hut.

"You live there?" Omi sounded both surprised and impressed. Snow White nodded and smiled warmly.

* * *

The wooden hut was very homely on the inside. The group sat around a wooden table. Snow White rested her bow and quiver against her chair. She turned her attention to the group. "Why are you here in the forest?"

"We're looking for an object. The Snow Rose Bow." Clay informed. Snow White glanced over to her own bow before suddenly standing up. She rushed over to a small log fire and pulled something out of a hidden box.

"Could this be what you're looking for?" Snow White placed one half of a white gold bow on the table. Dojo exaimed the item before nodding his head.

"That's one half at least."

"But where's the other half?" Kimiko demanded. Silence fell across the group. Snow White's attention fell solely on Garnet.

"How do you know of the seven assassins of Jewel Mountain?" Garnet looked at her hands.

"Because they were given a job I refused to do." The dragons stared at Garnet in shock. Snow White seemed to understand her.

"My sister." She whispered. Garnet slowly nodded her head. Kimiko's attention drifted back to Snow White.

"You have a sister?"

"Queen Rose Red. She took over the throne of the Apple Kingdom after our parents died. I am the oldest and the next heir to the throne. My sister gained the throne before me and banished me from the kingdom." Snow White explained sadly.

"But why?" Raimundo asked.

"Because the Queen is jealous of Snow White." Garnet began. "It was a few years back but I was summoned to the Apple Kingdom. The Queen had a job for me and would pay handsomly if I completed it. When she told what she wanted to do, I told her to stick her offer." Garnet ran a hand through her hair. "She must have contacted the Seven Assassins."

"Hold on a second. What did she want you to do?" Raimundo questioned.

"My sister wants me dead." Snow White informed. "And I have already killed two of the assassins."

"This is all well and good but how are going to find the second half of the bow?" Clay asked loudly. Garnet stared intently at Snow White.

"What if your sister has the second half?" Snow White raised an eyebrow.

"But why would she?"

"You and your sister share the same story. It would make sense if she had the other half of the wu."

"If that's true, where would Rose Red be? Germany isn't really a small place." Kimiko reminded. Something lit up in Snow White's eyes.

"I think I know where she might be."

* * *

The manor was dark, forboding and mostly gutted out. The group wonder whether there had been a fire recently or not. After reassurance from Dojo that they were in the right place, the group made their way inside the manor.

Unlike the manor with Cinderella, the manor now was a complete mess. The stairs leading to the second floor weren't even there. The group stood, tense but ready, in the main lobby of the manor.

"Guys? Do you hear that?" Dojo whispered. The group listened carefully. From one of the rooms was the sound of talking.

_"Mirror, mirror on the wall. Who is fairest of them all?"_

"It's coming from that room." Kimiko pointed to the left. the group shuffled into a parlour room to find another woman. She was staring intendly at a mirror on the wall. A mirror with a human face.

_"Thou art fairer than all my queen but more beautiful is Snow White."_ The woman picked up an old vase and threw it across the room. Her action made her catch sight of the group.

"Well, well, well." She smirked dangerously. "If it isn't my little sister and the treasure hunter." Queen Rose Red was the spitting image of her sister. She kept her raven black hair long which trailed on the floor behind her. Her face was covered in makeup with red eyeshadow around red eyes. Her dress, a mixture of red and black, sucked in her waist and amplfied her chest. A crown of roses sat on her head.

"Hello sister." Snow White greeted.

"I see you're still alive. Good help is so hard to find." Rose Red sneered. Behind her, the dragons could see the second half of the wu.

"Red. I do not wish to hurt you. Garnet can send us back home. We don't need to fight." Snow White began gently. Rose Red's face turned into a snarl.

"Now why would I want you to return home with me?" The Queen looked at Garnet. With her attention on Snow White and Garnet, the Dragons eased their way towards the wu. "Treasure hunter. You will take me home but first-" A cruel smile appeared on Rose Red's lips. "You will kill my sister."

"I told you once before." Garnet began as she unsheathed one of her swords. "I will not harm an innocent girl. Take your offer and shove it up your ass!"

"I shouldn't have expected anything less from someone like you." The mirror behind Rose Red began to shake. Suddenly a figure oozed from the mirror and formed next to Rose Red. "Kill Snow White. I need Garnet alive." Rose Red ordered. The figures arms turned into numerous spikes.

"Guys! Get the wu!" Garnet grabbed Snow White's hand and the two ran off. The mirror figure was in hot persuit. Rose Red frowned in confusion and turned to witness Clay swipe the wu half. The dragons bolted from the room.

"Give that back to me!" Rose Red yelled. Her running speed was hampered by the full lenght gown she wore.

Snow White and Garnet ducked into a kitchen and waited. "What are we going to do?" Snow White whispered. Garnet drew her second sword.

"I'm going to keep that mirror thing busy. You go back to the parlour room and break the mirror.

"You do know that my sister has many enchanted mirrors." Snow White stated as she loaded her bow. Garnet nodded her head.

"I figured as much but we need to get rid of this thing." As if on cue, the mirror figure rushed into the kitchen. "Go." Garnet used her telekinesis to send a collection of pots and pans flying at the figure. Snow White squeezed past and ran back to the parlour room.

On the way Snow White bumped into the dragons with their newly restored wu. "Where's Garnet?" Clay asked. The clashing from the kitchen gave them their answer.

"We have to destory my sister's mirror." Snow White led the group. "Where is Rose Red?"

"Her speed is limited by that dress of her's. We gave her the slip." Raimundo replied. Snow White smiled sadly.

The group stood in the parlour room facing the mirror. Snow White readied an arrow and let it fly into the mirror. The glass shattered on impact. An inhuman scream rang out through the manor before the clashing in the kitchen stopped.

"How dare you!" Rose Red screeched as she appeared in the door way. "I'll have your head! I'll bath in your blood you wench!" Kimiko suddenly clutched her head in pain. Rose Red began to back her sister into a corner. Clay readied their own bow.

"Snow Ro-"

"Wait!" Kimiko called out grabbing Clay's arm. Before the boys could question Kimiko, Garnet appeared from seemingly nowhere and struck Rose Red across the head. The Queen stumbled and turned.

"You...dare to..."

"Just stay down all ready!" Garnet hissed and struck Rose Red again. The Queen fell to the floor.

"Is she dead?" Snow White asked fearfully. Garnet dropped her weapon, which was a frying pan, and shook her head.

"Just out cold." She sat down heavily on a moth eaten chair. Her weight threw dust up into the air causing Garnet to cough. "Kimiko. If you'd be so kind."

"Sure." The fire dragon stopped next to Garnet. "Next time you send me mental messages, don't make it so painful."

"You're just not use to it." Garnet teased. Kimiko rolled her eyes and placed the book on the floor. Clay picked up Rose Red first and placed her on the book. She was gone in a flash.

"Will she be all right?" Snow White inquried. Garnet nodded her head. "Thank you." Snow White stepped onto the book. She gave the dragons one last smile before disappearing from view.

The book held a new story; **Snow White and Rose Red**.


	12. Chapter 12

_Thank you to ZJohnson for all of her reviews! I am sorry that I haven't been abled to PM you recently. Life has been surprisingly busy._

* * *

**Chapter 12: A Cursed Prince**

The dragons all crowded round their new wu outside the manor house. Garnet stood to the side waiting for Dojo to turned into his true form. Instead the dragon sat ridged on Clay's hat. "Dojo? What's wrong?" Garnet called. The dragons looked at him.

"There's another wu." Dojo replied before tremors took over his body.

"What is it?" There was a scramble to unroll the wu scroll. When the group managed to unroll it, the image of a ball was shown.

"The Golden Ball releases a green gas which turns the enemy into frogs." Dojo stopped shaking for a second before starting up again. "It's that way!"

"What? In Germany?"

"Yes. Just keep walking in that direction. It's closer then you think." The green dragon stated. The group followed Dojo's instructions and continued on into the forest.

* * *

The group finally arrived at a large lake. Lily pads dotted the surface. The group searched the area before Dojo guessed it was under water.

"So who wants a swimming lesson?" Garnet joked. The sound of heliblades filled the air.

"Not so fast losers."

"Jack Spicer!" Omi growled. The said boy genius flew into view.

"Must you say my name like that every time?" Jack whined.

"Hey cutie!" Garnet grinned. This caused the dragons to stare at her in shock and Jack to turn scarlet.

"What the hell?" Kimiko mouthed. Garnet ignored her. Jack coughed to cover his embarrassment.

"Whatever. JACKBOTS! ATTACK!"

The forest came alive with the sounds of battle. While the group were busy, Jack sat at the edge of the lake. "And I really wasn't planning in getting wet again." He complained and pulled off his boots.

"Perhaps I can help."

Jack screamed and turned sharply. Sitting behind him was a small green frog. "Who are you."

"The Frog Prince." The little frog did a bow. "Have you lost something sir?"

"There's something at the bottom of the lake. I need to get it." Jack explained.

"Righto. I'll be back." With that the frog hopped into the lake.

"Wait!" Jack cursed when the frog had disappeared. "I never told you what it was."

The battle raged on for a while leaving Jack to wait for the frog. Finally after the last Jackbot had been destroyed, the frog reappeared with a golden ball.

"Yes! I am back on top baby!" Jack cheered. The dragons stared at the frog which had perched itself on a lily pad.

"Don't give it to him your highness!" Garnet warned.

"That's a prince?" Raimundo spluttered. The frog glanced over to Garnet.

"Why not? He seems pleasant enough." With a little difficulty, the frog prince made his way across the pond.

"He's working for Prince Toho!" Garnet lied. The frog stood stock still. Jack rose an eyebrow.

"Who?"

"He's a spy sent by Toho. He came to make sure you don't attempt to find Rika." Garnet continued. Jack scratched his head.

"I don't know anyone called Toho. Only..." Jack's gaze landed on Kimiko who made gestures to keep quiet.

"You dare spy on me? You dare tell your pig of a prince about me?" The frog shook in anger. "I'll show you! Have a mouth full of this Golden Ball!"

At the mention of it's name, the wu began to glow and a green mist shot out at Jack. The boy genius coughed as he shrunk in size.

In his own fright, the frog prince dropped the ball on the lily pad. The ball rolled and fell back into the water.

"What the hell happened?" Jack asked as the mist cleared. In his place was a tiny green frog.

"Aww. He's so tiny." Garnet chuckled. She picked up Jack who tried to get away.

"Put me down!" The frog cried. The dragons all gathered round at Jack's new form.

"I didn't mean...I'm sorry. I didn't mean to do that." The frog prince apologised.

"It's okay." Garnet reassured. She looked back at Jack. "How do we reverse this?"

"In the story, the princess have the frog a kiss." Kimiko replied. The dragons instantly took a step back, leaving Garnet with the squirming frog.

"Ah." Garnet let out a small sigh. There was a heavy silence. "Can't I just keep him like this?"

"Turn me back!" Jack croaked in protest. Garnet frowned.

"What's a matter?" Raimundo began to tease.

"Frog's taste so fricken bad." Garnet closed her eyes and got herself ready. No sooner had she kissed the frog in her hands, Garnet spluttered and coughed. She dropped the frog to the floor who turned back into Jack. Garnet gaged. "That was vile!"

Jack patted himself down. "I'm me!" He yelled out with glee. Garnet backed away from him.

"Never do that again cutie. I hate frogs." She muttered. She moved towrds lake to wash her mouth out.

"What about me?" The frog prince hopped over to Garnet.

"I'm sure Kimiko wouldn't mind kissing you." Raimundo joked. Kimiko punched him on the arm. The frog prince sniffed.

"I doubt that. Besides I have eyes for only one princess."

"Princess Rika?" Omi asked. The frog prince turned to face the little monk.

"Have you seen her? Is she here? Is she all right?" He asked quickly.

"Yes, no we sent her back home and yes." Clay informed. The frog smiled slightly.

"At leasts she is not hurt. The curse has not cursed her any suffering." Behind him, Garnet pulled a face as she sat up.

"We can send you back home. But first we need that wu." She informed.

"That's my wu!" Jack whined.

"A spy of Toho does not deserved anything." The frog prince snapped.

"But I'm not! I don't even know who this Toho is!" Jack shot back. The frog prince pulled a face before leaping into the water once more.

"The prince is in love with Rika?" All eyes fell on Garnet. She nodded her head. "So when Rika said she was in love with someone else..." Clay trailed off

"When prince Toho found out, he had a witch curse them both. Until Rika falls for Toho, the spell will not be lifted."

"That's what you get when you fall in love." The prince stated as he climbed back onto dry land.

Garnet wrinkles her nose then said, "Don't say stuff like that. They'll never fall in love then."

"Did you and Rika cross paths at all?" Kimiko asked.

"Yes. Purely by accident. I fell terrible for allowing Rika to be cursed."

"You can't do anything in your state." Clay pointed out.

"Still. I feel like I should have done something." The frog prince turned to Garnet. "This way home? Will it take me straight me to Rika?"

"I don't know. I don't think so." Garnet answered truthfully. The frog sighed and nodded his head.

"It is asking too much. Very well. I would like to return home." Jack watched Kimiko place the story book on the floor.

"That's his way home? A book?" The genius chuckled. The dragons glared at him.

"Be quiet spy." The frog snapped. He then looked at Garnet. "Please teach this man a lesson." Then the frog hopped onto the book and disappeared from sight.

"You know what's funny." Garnet began. The others watched her closely. "He's not even a real Prince."

The group crowded round to find a new story; **The Frog Prince**.


	13. Chapter 13

_Thank you to ZJohnson for all of her reviews!_

* * *

**Chapter 13: Little Red Riding Wolf**

The group were making their way home when Dojo suddenly began to shake. The dragons and Garnet held on tightly. The giant dragon then came to a complete stop.

"Dojo?" Omi ventured.

"Hang on." Dojo then did a complete 180 degree turn and headed back towards France.

"Another wu?" Garnet called.

"Yeah. It's weird. It's like they can't wait to activate." Dojo replied. The dragons rushed to pull the wu scroll out of Kimiko's backpack.

"It looks like a cloak." Clay informed.

"Ah. The Red Riding Hood cloak masks the wearer's scent. The wearer can be untraceable with that hood." Dojo informed. A grin appeared on Raimundo's face.

"Couple that with the shroud and you'll be invincible."

"Yeah until you breath too hard." Kimiko pointed out. Garnet was silent.

* * *

Dojo landed in a large field in the French countryside. In the forest that surrounded it, the sounds of battle were heard. A sickly sweet smell drifted on the breeze.

"Oh god! What is that smell?" Kimiko gagged. Garnet had turned white.

"It's them." Garnet slid of Dojo. She pulled out her swords and ran towards the forest.

"Who? Who it is?" Garnet did not reply to Omi's question. The dragons raced to catch up.

The forest was dense. The dragons caught up with Garnet who was trying to navigate her way through. In the end it was a combination of the noise, the smell and Dojo that got the group to the action.

The scene was unlike anything the dragons had seen. Two people, a male and female, were fighting off a large grey and white wolf. The wolf was injured; bleeding from it's stomach and leg.

"Who do we fight?" Raimundo asked. Garnet grabbed the bow wu from Clay.

"**Snow Rose Bow**!" The wu glowed and an energy arrow appeared. Garnet took aim and fired at the two people.

The pair moved quickly; dodging the arrow. Before Garnet could fire another arrow, the pair were gone. The wolf lay down heavily on the ground. It howled pitifully.

Garnet dropped the bow and rushed to the wolf's side. "Claire? Claire, can you hear me?"

"You know this wolf?" The bow wu was collected by Omi.

"Yes. Her name is Claire." Garnet stroked Claire's head. "I'm here. It's okay."

"We need to find the wu." Omi stated. Garnet glared at him as she pulled off her tattered cape.

"You go. I have to stay with Claire."

"What if we meet the fairy tale creature?" Raimundo asked. Kimiko pulled her book into view.

"Don't you get it Rai? That is the fairy tale creature." Kimiko dropped down next to Garnet. Behind them, Dojo led Clay to the wu.

It was stuck inside a hollowed out tree along with some other items. The items were a selection of clothing; mostly red and black. Clay gathered everything and went back to the group. "Any of this stuff help ya?" He placed the items next to Garnet. Her face lit up.

"Yes!" There suddenly came a popping sound. Everyone looked down at the wolf who began to shake and whine. "I suggest you boys turn around." Garnet stated.

"Why?"

"Just do it Omi." Kimiko replied. She moved back as the wolf twisted. It was a sickening sight to watch, but one Kimiko found she couldn't look away from. After a few minutes the wolf disappeared. In it's place was a injured, naked female. The male dragons instantly turned round.

"Well that sucked." The girl groaned.

"Claire! Are you all right?" Claire gave Garnet an odd look. "Okay, okay. Stupid question." Garnet held out her cape. "I'll bandaged your wounds."

"That's an even stupider response." The young girl snapped. Kimiko stared in surprise to find Claire's wounds had healed. Claire shivered slightly and reached for the clothes. "Do you know where those two went?" She asked as she moved to stand behind a tree.

"No. No doubt I'll run into them again." Garnet pulled her cape back on. Kimiko made her way over to the boys. The dragons looked over their new wu.

"When you do, I'll be there to help." Claire, now dressed, also joined the dragons. Claire was an inch taller then Kimiko and wour her chocolate brown hair in two plaits. Her smoky blue eyes held something that the dragons couldn't place.

"No, you won't." Garnet replied. She got to her feet and joined the group. Claire stared at Garnet unimpressed. "I'll deal with them. They're my problem."

"And mine as well." Claire's stare turned into a glare and she crossed her arms over her chest. "Have you forgotten what they did?"

"No but surely you know that somethings wrong." Garnet began. Claire rose an eyebrow. "If you don't return home, it could spell the destruction of our world."

"Oh please! The threat of destruction happens all the time." Claire rolled her eyes.

"This time it could really happen!" Garnet paused and pinched the bridge of her nose. "Look. I need you to hold fort back home. I can't have you running around in this world looking for them. It's too risky." Claire's arms slowly dropped to her sides.

"You'll send them back home?" Garnet nodded her head. Claire chewed her lower lip before cursing. "I don't like this."

"You don't have to like it. Just get your ass back home." Kimiko placed the book down on the floor. Claire looked at it and wrinkled her nose.

"A book?"

"Claire."

"All right! I'm going!" Claire sent one last look at Garnet. "You make sure they come home. Don't hurt them too much."

"No promises on that last part." Garnet grinned. Claire stepped onto the book and was gone in a flash.

The contents page held a new entry; **Little Red Riding Hood**.

* * *

When the dragons were settled back at the temple, they decided to ask Garnet about Claire. They sat in the great hall, out from the hot sun. "She's little red riding hood?" Kimiko asked. Garnet nodded her head.

"No-one's called her by that name in a long time."

"Why is she a wolf?" Omi asked.

"Werewolf. Claire got bitten by a wolf some time back." Garnet replied. The dragons silently egged her on to tell more. "Claire had gone to visit her grandmother who lived in this forest. She'd done this trip thousands of times but Claire was attacked by the wolf. If it hadn't been for the Woodsmen Guild, Claire might have died." Garnet explained. There was a short silence.

"Who were the people she was fighting?" Clay asked. The atmostphere around Garnet seemed to change.

"Hansel and Gretel." She whispered.

"Are they enemies?" Raimundo ventured. Garnet did not answer. She instead got up and walked outside. The dragons remained where they were; looking at each other in confusion.


	14. Chapter 14

_Thank you to ZJohnson for all of her reviews! To answer your question, I wasn't thinking about pairings at all. Maybe if I do a sequel, there might be a pairing or a few pairings in it. We'll see._

* * *

**Chapter 14: On strands of blood-stoaked hair**

It was the singing that alerted him to the problem.

It had actually begun before that but Chase Young tried to ignore it. There wasn't anything in the beginning to suggest something bad was going to happen. Until his key went missing.

The key was to a high tower within his home. A place that only Chase could go to. Wuya knew of it but was unable to find a way into it. The tower's only door was often guarded by a cat and even if Wuya could pass the animal, the door was always locked. Over time Wuya had forgotten about the tower.

Until the singing started.

Chase had noticed the disappearing cats around his home. This slightly worried him. The cats were under his control, they followed his orders. Where on earth could they be? Chase had searched high and low before coming to the tower. As he got closer, the singing hit him like a train wreck.

If was off-key slightly. Sounded terrible to his ears. The sight before him was worrying though. Every single cat under his command was sat looking up at the only window of the tower. They seemed mesmerized by the sound.

"What is that noise?" Wuya asked. She placed her hands over her ears as she stood behind Chase. The male fighter let his eyes trail up the tower. Half way up was the beginning of a extremely long braid. "Who the hell is that?"

"This is troublesome." Chase commented before turning on his heel. Wuya watched his leave towards the front door.

"Chase? Where are you going?"

"To get help. Stay here." Before Wuya could argue, Chase was gone.

* * *

After three wu's appearing in quick succession, the dragons were granted a week's break. Garnet was mostly left alone while the dragons did their training and chores. She was often seen on the roof of the temple, deep in her own thoughts.

"Garnet! Lunch time!" Kimiko placed her hands on her hips. There was silence. "Hey! Did you hear me?"

Garnet turned slowly to the right. "Someone's here to see you." She informed.

"Huh?" Kimiko turned to look to the right. She gasped loudly when she caught sight of Chase. "Guys! We've got trouble!" She warned. Chase stood and watched the dragons try to block him off.

"Chase Young? What are you doing here?" Omi demanded.

"I am not here to see you little monks." Chase replied cooly. Raimundo muttered something under his breath with a sneer.

"Really? Then why are you here?" Clay asked. Chase looked up at Garnet who was still sat on the roof. She watched the scene play out.

"I have come for your friend." Garnet raised an eyebrow. Kimiko balled her hands into fists.

"You can't have her!" She yelled. Garnet tried to jump from the roof. As she stood up, her foot slipped and she fell. Garnet managed to land straight. She stood up quickly dusted herself down before walking over to Chase.

"And your problem is?"

"You're not going to help him are you?" Raimundo spluttered in disbelief. Garnet looked back at the dragons over her shoulder.

"Unlike you, I'm sitting on the fence. I don't take sides. This guy asked for help and it's my duty as a vessel to give him help." Garnet turned back to Chase. "So?"

"There is someone in my home. I have reason to believe that you may know them." Chase began. Kimiko crossed her arms over her chest.

"And how would you know? Screw that! How do you even know that Garnet was here?" She inquried. Chase cooly regarded the fire dragon over Garnet's shoulder.

"That worm Jack Spicer has been informing me of everything that has happened. Whether I like it or not."

"So this person? You know who they are?" Garnet asked. She placed one hand on her hip. Chase shook his head.

"I do not. I do know that they are in a high tower in my home, have long hair and are terrible at singing." Chase lent forward a fraction when he spotted Garnet's reaction. "You know who it is, don't you?"

"Rapunzel."

"As in Rapunzel, Rapunzel, let down your hair?" Clay guessed. Garnet nodded her head.

"Yeah. Only you don't want her to let her hair down."

"Why?" Clay asked. Garnet did not look him.

"She's a pyschopath. She sings to lure people in and when she has you, she will kill you." Garnet glanced over to the dragons. "She may have a wu."

"Then we shall go and claim it!" Omi yelled. Garnet looked back briefly to Chase. He said nothing in protest over Omi's statment.

"So big guy. Where do you live?"

* * *

Garnet stared in amazment at Chase's home. Wuya snarled at the group from the fountain. She looked Garnet over and began to chuckle. "And what are you suppose to be?"

"A telepathic vessal to the gods who goes on wacky adventures, and tries to save the lives of the common folk in the 9 kingdoms." Garnet smiled sweetly at Wuya. "You?"

Wuya sneered again and looked at Chase. "What are they doing here?"

"I told you. I needed help." Chase glared at Wuya; silently ordering her to stay quiet. Wuya nodded towards the dragons.

"I doubt they could help with this problem." The dragons glared at her.

"We are here to claim the wu. Do not stand in our way." Omi warned. Wuya was instantly on her feet.

"The wu? What wu?" It suddenly dawned on her what the dragons meant. Wuya looked over to the tower before looking back at the dragons. "That is our wu. You have no right to take it."

"Wuya." Chase's tone was enough for Wuya to go silent. She sulked by the fountain. Chase led the group towards the tower. The singing continued.

Instantly Garnet covered her ears. "By the Gods!" She cursed. Kimiko noticed something wrong with her friends.

"Omi? Rai? Clay? Dojo?" The said monks slowly made their towards the towers. "Guys? What's wrong with yo-" Garnet grabbed Kimiko's wrist. "Garnet? What's wrong with them?"

"It's the singing." Garnet began. Kimiko stared at the vessel. "It's the whole princess thing. Animals and members of the opposite gender are often mesmerized by the singing of a princess."

"But Chase isn't." Kimiko stated pointing at finger at Chase. The said warrior said nothing in his defence.

"Chase is evil. The singing of a princess does nothing to women or to those with evil hearts." Garnet informed. "Which is why to us, it sounds off key."

"So how do we stop her from singing?" Kimiko asked. Garnet grinned and pointed to the end of the princess's long hair.

"Set that on fire for me." Chase and Kimiko stared at her. "What? It'll get her attention."

"How can you do sure?" Chase questioned. Garnet's grin grew.

"That hair of her's isn't just a pretty braid. It's alive." Garnet glanced briefly over to Kimiko. "You know how I have telekinesis?" Kimiko nodded her head. "Same thing but only she uses her hair."

Kimiko opened her mouth then closed it. She knew there was no more time to waste by talking. She took her stance; using her personal wu and setting the end of Rpaunzel's hair on fire. The singing stopped sharply and the braid was pulled up into the tower. Everyone in front of the tower snapped out of their trance.

"What? What just...happened?" Clay mumbled. He shook his head. Kimiko ran over to hr friends. "Kimiko?"

"You're okay!" she gleefully exclaimed. She resisted the urged to hug her friends. They had bigger fish to fry. From above there came a scream. "Here she comes." Kimiko whispered.

"Who?" Omi looked up to the top of the tower. He could make out a figure at the top. "Who is that?" Kimiko grabbed the little monk by the shouders and steered him away from the tower. The others followed. Chase clicked his fingers. The cats all moved away. Some slunk off to the shadows. 4 of the cats moved to stand by Chase.

"How dare you!" The figure climbed down the tower using her hair. "You have no right to touch my hair unless I state you can! Who do you think you are defiling a princess!"

"Now those are some harsh words. We just burnt the end of your hair. No biggie." Garnet replied. The figure landed neatly on the floor.

Like before, Rapunzel was not as the dragons expected. She was pale. She had raven black hair that was in a extremely long braid. A blue ribbon had been wrapped into her braid. Rapunzel wour a full lenght gown, black and blue in colour, but wour no crown. Her steel grey eyes glared at the group. "You have ruined my hair!"

"Just snip the dead ends off." Kimiko offered. Rapunzel's gaze was directed to the fire dragon. The princess pointed to her and, large strands of Rapunzel's hair shot out. The ends took the shape of knive points.

Kimiko stood ready and unleashed her element. The ends were burnt again by the fire and slithered away. Rapunzel let out another scream.

"I will kill you! I will kill you all!" She raged. As she stomped her feet, something glinted from her dress belt. It was then that Dojo began to shake.

"Shen-gong-wu! She's got the shen-gong-wu!" He yelled. Rapunzel's rage sent her hair up into the air. There came a shake and a crash as the enchanted hair began to tear the place apart.

"No time! Back up!" Garnet ordered. To Chase's surprise, the dragons moved to stand behind Garnet. Chunks of rock were sent flying towards the group. Garnet held her hands out in front of her. The rocks stopped and floated in mid-air. Rapunzel threw more and more rocks towards Garnet. To the dragons' shock Garnet's nose began to bleed under the strain.

Clay was the first to move; summoning his element and slamming his foot down on the floor. A long spike erupted from the earth. Rapunzel's hair moved to stop the spike hitting the princess. Some of the rocks fell to the earth. Raimundo used his element to send the rocks sailing back to Rapunzel. Again her hair rushed to her defend her.

When the last rocks fell to the ground, Garnet stumbled backwards. She fell against Chase's chest, who looked at her in both annoyance and mild interest. Garnet wiped her nose. "You bloody wombat." She cursed.

"What did you call me?" Rapunzel hissed. The dragons looked back at Garnet as she struggled to stand up.

"I called you a wombat. Deal with it." Garnet snapped. Raimundo went to open his mouth when Rapunzel set her hair back at Garnet. Kimiko moved quickly, unleashing her element and burning the princess's hair again. Rapunzel screamed again. The princess charged towards Kimiko but was blocked by Omi and his element.

The jet of water sent Rapunzel flewing backwards where she smacked into the tower. She slid to the floor and coughed. Chase casually made his way towards her. He held out his hand. "My key." He demanded. Rapunzel looked at him through her wet fringe.

"What key?"

Chase growled under his breath. "You know what key. There was no way you could have gotten into the tower without it. Now hand it over." He ordered. Rapunzel stood up on shakey feet.

"I have no idea what you're talking about." Rapunzel tried to walk past Chase who grabbed her arm. "Unhand me! I am a princess! You have no right!"

"And you had no right stealing something of mine. Give me back my key!" Chase roared. With Chase and Rapunzel at a stand still, Kimiko dug around for her chosen shen-gong-wu. Garnet raised an eyebrow at the comb shaped wu.

"**Tangled web comb**!" Chase moved sharply out of the way as long brown vines wrapped themselves around Rapunzel.

"What is this? Unhand me!" She yelled. The princess fell to the floor. Chase bent down and began to search Rpaunzel. She squirmed as best she could. Chase pulled two items from the princess's belt. One was the key to his tower. The second item he tossed towards the dragons. The wu was in the shape of a hairbrush.

"Take her and leave." Chase hissed. He turned to the tower door and unlocked it. Kimiko advanced towards Rapunzel as Chase disappeared inside the tower. The fire dragon placed her book on the floor. Rapunzel eyed the book closely.

"What is that?" Clay silently picked Rapunzel up. "Put me down you filthy creature!" Rapunzel was plonked down on the book where she disappeared in a flash of light.

The content page held a new entry; **Rapunzel**


	15. Chapter 15

_Thank you to ZJohnson for all of her reviews! Good news, I am seriously thinking of doing a sequel staring our favourtie vessel! Watch this space!_

* * *

**Chapter 15: In a Crooked Little Town**

Back at the temple, Garnet scrubbed her face free from blood. When she left the temple bathroom, the dragons all stood waiting for her. "Something I can help you with?"

"Are you okay?" Clay asked.

"Yeah. Why wouldn't I be?" Garnet replied with a raised eyebrow.

"Your nose started to bleed." Kimiko reminded. Garnet chuckled to herself.

"Oh that? That's nothing. If I strain my telekineses too much, I bleed from the nose, eyes and ears. Lucky it was just my nose this time."

"You bleed from your eyes?" Omi sounded shocked. Garnet smiled warmly and waved her hand, as if to brush the whole thing away.

"So what this wu?"

Raimundo held it out. It looked like a simple hair brush. The only thing was that the handle was solid gold with diamonds on the head. "The Rapunzel Brush lets the users create ladders or rope out of hair." The air dragon explained. Garnet pulled a face.

"That's nasty."

"I know, right." Kimiko agreed. The two girls laughed.

"We having anything to eat? I'm star-"

"SHEN-GONG-WU!"

"-ving." Garnet sighed loudly. "Just ain't no rest for the wicked."

* * *

The group came to land in a small village in England. "The Crooked Cane allow the user to squeeze into any small space." Dojo began.

"So like the Lotus Twister." Clay replied. Dojo shook his head.

"The cane is a lot more painful. It let's you-"

"Break into people's houses." Garnet blurted out fearfully. The male dragons stared at her. "It pops your bones out of place and you slid through any gap. The Crooked Man used the same technique."

"You sound afraid of him." Omi commented.

"So should you." Garnet shot back.

"What's wrong with the village?" Kimiko asked. Everyone turned to her. The fire dragon pointed to the houses in the village. "The houses are all crooked."

"You need to find this wu and quickly." Garnet ordered. Raimundo turned round to look at Garnet.

"Why? What's got you so worked up?" He demanded. Garnet took a step forward and pointed to a twisted tree.

"They hung him from that tree."

"Who hung who? What are you talkin' about?" Clay asked. Garnet's frame shook slightly.

"The Crooked Man. He use to live in this village. In a little shack. No on really bothered with him at first. Till the children started to disappear."

"What?" Kimiko gasped. Garnet ignored her.

"One of the kidnapped children escaped and went running to the village. Told them about the shack and the man. The villagers found the bones of the children in shallow graves." Garnet hugged herself and shuddered. "The villagers broke his limbs and hung him from that tree."

"That doesn't explain what happened to the village." Dojo reminded. The dragons looked at each other. It was clear that they were all spooked.

"Two days later the spirit of the Crooked Man began to haunt the village. His malice caused the village to warp and become crooked. Everyone died." Garnet looked at the dragons. "We have to hurry."

_"Why hurry?" _A silky voice asked from behind Garnet. She froze instantly. _"Why not stay and rest your bones?"_

The Crooked Man was as every bit like his name. From his crooked clothing, to his facial features and to the way he stood. The Crooked Man looked at the group with uneven eyes.

"Go!" Garnet mouthed forcefully. The dragons sped off in search of the wu. Garnet spun round on her toes and slammed her leg into the Crooked Man's side. His back gave a pop and a snap.

_"You know that doesn't work." _The Crooked Man grabbed Garnet's leg and threw her into a nearby water fountain. _"Don't waste your breath."_

Garnet spluttered and swam to the edge of the fountain. The Crooked Man was gone.

* * *

The dragons ran through the crooked alleyways in pursuit of the wu. "Where's the wu Dojo?" Raimundo asked.

"I can't get a lock on it. It's-wait!" Dojo pointed towards a house. "In there. Second floor."

The dragons ran towards the house. Kimiko let out a strangled gasp when the Crooked Man appeared in front of them. _"Going somewhere?"_ He purred.

"Remove yourself from our path." Omi ordered. This only served to make the Crooked Man smile a very crooked smile.

_"You are in my domain now children. I command your fate."_ He informed. Kimiko clutched both Clay's and Raimundo's arms.

"I will give you the count of 3." Omi hissed. The crooked smile grew until it looked like it was splitting his face in half.

_"I will give you less the-"_ A blur from the left slammed into the Crooked Man. The fairy tale resident bounced along the floor. Garnet panted hard.

"Kimiko. Your book." The fire dragon hastily pulled the book from her bag and handed it to Garnet.

"What are you going to do?" Raimundo asked.

"Beat him over the head with this." Garnet ran towards the downed man. The dragons continued into the house.

* * *

The dragons crept silently through the ruined house. There was dust and spiderwebs, broken furniture and broken pottery. The place was a mess.

There was no signs to suggest anyone lived in the house, which did little to ease the dragons' fear. They crept up a flight of stairs and into a single bedroom.

There was blood amongst the pink theme of the room. Kimiko tried hard not to cry at the sight. The wu was located underneath the bed. It took all of Clay's strength to lift the bed up while Raimundo collected the item. Outside there came the sound of helipack blades fill the air.

* * *

Jack Spicer watched the fight play out. Both Garnet and the Crooked Man went all out, in a bid to subdue the other. The Crooked Man's ability to reset his bones instantly made things difficult. Although Jack was pretty sure Garnet was trying to beat him over the head.

With a book.

"What are you guys fighting over?" The boy genius called. The Crooked Man glanced up and sneered.

_"You look too old for me."_ He was promptly smacked in the chin with the heavy book.

"Shut up! And Jack-" Garnet glared up at the said male. "Keep out of this." She ordered.

"Why? What did I do?" Jack whined. He hovered down to the ground and began to pout. "I was only asking a question."

_"Shut up you whining brat."_ The Crooked Man spat. He snarled at Jack who shrieked in terror. Garnet slammed the book across the back of The Crooked Man's head.

The man stumbled and began to fall. Garnet opened the book and slid it under the man. In a flash The Crooked Man was gone.

All of sudden the crooked village returned to it's former self. A car honked it's horn at Garnet and Jack who found themselves in the road.

"Sorry!" Jack called. He grabbed Garnet and the book and ran across the road. Behind them the dragons barrelled out of the house, which turned out to be a shop.

"I take it you won." Clay joked. Garnet handed back the book to Kimiko. She eyed the cane that Raimundo clutched to his chest.

"Sorry about the damage. There's no blood on it though."

Kimiko flicked the book open. The content page held a new entry; **The Crooked Man. **


	16. Chapter 16

_Thank you to ZJohnson for all of her reviews! We will be coming to the end of this story very shortly. Don't worry though. The sequel is being worked on as we speak._

* * *

**Chapter 16: Mercenaries**

The creepiness of the situation led the dragons to have a few bad dreams that night. It got so bad that Master Fung had to check that the Shadow of Fear wu had not been stolen. Only Garnet slept peacefully all night.

The following morning the dragons tried to forget their nightmares. They focused on their training while Garnet watched. The vessel silently congratulated the dragons for their bravery.

Beside Garnet sat Kimiko's PDA. It let out a shrill bleeping sound which made Garnet jump. The vessel picked the item up but was unable to stop the sound. She shook it several times. "What are you doing to my PDA?" Kimiko asked as she jogged over to Garnet. The PDA finally stopped.

"Your what?"

"PDA. Personal Digital Assistant." Kimiko took the item from Garnet and looked at the screen. "That's odd."

"Kimiko? What is wrong?" Omi asked. The boys joined the girls. Kimiko tapped the screen twice.

"My dad just rang. But he was using the video conference option. He never does that." Kimiko silently prayed that nothing had happened to her father. The screen lit up to show her father at his desk. "Papa? Are you okay?"

_"My little miko."_ Kimiko's father smiled faintly. There was movement behind him.

"Papa? Whoes that in the background? What's going on?" The video link jolted and a new face appeared. A brown haired woman smiled at Kimiko. The fire dragon's blood froze in her veins.

_"You look every bit like your dear old man." _Garnet jumped to her feet. The voice had put her on edge. _"A little birdy told me and my good friend, that you know a certain vessel."_ Another female, this time blonde, appeared in the frame.

_"Goes by the name of Garnet Chambers."_ She grinned. Kimiko glanced up at Garnet who held out her hand. Kimiko silently handed the PDA over. _"Ah! There you are."_ Surprisingly there was a hint of a southern drawl to the blonde's voice.

"Golddie. Muffet." Garnet greeted.

_"So nice to see you again Garnet. We've missed you. Ain't we darling?"_ The video link jolted slighltly and the first female appeared once more.

_"That we have. It's nice that we have your attention."_

"Just how the hell did you know where I was? How the hell did you know where to contact me?" Garnet hissed. Kimiko began to feel sick with worry. Raimundo wrapped an arm round her for comfort.

_"Our contract. He's been keeping an eye on you. Wants you taken out."_ The female replied.

_"Double or nothing!" _The blonde female yelled in excitment.

"Then come find me. Leave that man out of this." Garnet ordered. Two different laughs rang out from the PDA's speakers. The first female lent forward so her whole face filled the screen.

_"We play by our rules. You know where to find this guy. You come to us. If you don't-"_ The female drew a finger across her neck. The video link went out. Garnet was tempted to throw the PDA across the garden but refraned from doing so. She handed it back to Kimiko.

"You're going to do something, right?" Kimiko demanded. Garnet pulled her sword belt tighter and nodded her head.

"I will. I have too." Garnet turned to face Kimiko head on. "I need your help. I don't know where your father is."

"We'll show you but we're going together." Raimundo stated firmly. Garnet looked at the dragons.

"Kimiko's father is in danger. It is our duty to protect those in peril." Omi nodded his head. Kimiko looked at Clay who smiled and clap a hand on her shoulder.

"You can count on us Kimiko."

"Thank you." The fire dragon turned to Garnet. "Just who were those girls?"

* * *

"Goldilocks and Miss Muffet." Garnet had opted to sit up front on Dojo. She could feel the stares of the dragons burning the back of her head.

"Didn't Goldilocks break into a bear's house?" Clay asked. Kimiko nodded her head.

"Ate all their food and slept in their beds."

"Killed them too." Garnet added. She did not look back at the dragons. "Goldilocks is one bad little wombat. She's been done for breaking and entering into houses before. Then she straight up murdered an entire bear family. Some say she skinned the baby and used his fur as a coat."

"Gross!" Kimiko whined.

"That part is rumours though. No one is really sure what she did with the bodies." Garnet replied.

"What about Muffet?" Clay called from the back.

"She's a dangerous one. Muffet lines her sword with spider poison. One little nick and you're dead. She also studied under the Spider Assassin."

"Spider Assassin?" Kimiko asked clearly confused.

"It's not a nickname or anything. He is a Spider. Taught Muffet everything she knows." Garnet replied with a shrug.

"How do we tell them apart?" Omi inquried.

"Goldilocks wears pink. She has two swords. Also she had has blonde hair. Naturally." Garnet chuckled lightly to herself. "Muffet has brown hair, one sword and dresses in blue." Garnet shifted on her spot to look at the dragons sitting behind her. "Don't you worry about them. You save Kimiko's father."

"Will you be all right?" Raimundo asked. Garnet nodded her head and turned to face the front.

"We've faced off before. Walk in the park." Garnet's voice shook slightly.

* * *

The warehouse was quiet and dark. Garnet took lead and walked bravely into the building. The dragons trotted behind. Suddenly the lights came on causing the group to wince.

"We knew you'd come." Standing a walkway overhead was Goldilocks. She was a short woman; only taller by the high heeled shoes she wore. She had short blond hair with a pink butterfly shaped headband in. From the top, to her shirt, to her shoes and stockings; everything Goldilocks wore was pink. She had a heavily made up face. Behind her was Kimiko's father. He had been tied to a chair.

"Papa!" Kimiko yelled.

"Golddie." Garnet greeted. "I would say this is a little below you. Kidnapping people. But at this point nothing is below the likes of you."

"Cute." Goldilocks spat. She rested one of her swords lightly against her shoulder. "I see your sense of humor hasn't changed."

"Who hired you to kill me?" Garnet asked. Raimundo peered in the shadows around them. He was sure he had seen something move around.

"Now you know I can't tell you that." Goldilocks chuckled. Raimundo's eyes widened when something silvery flew from the shadows.

"Get down!" He shoved both Garnet and Omi down to the floor. Clay grabbed Kimiko and pulled her backwards. Garnet lifted her head to see silvery pieces of silk. She knew it was Miss Muffet and her spider webs.

"Don't touch the web." Garnet warned. She made a motion with her hand and sent a pile of boxes clattering into the shadows. A figure darted out. Miss Muffet was dressed completely in blue and had short brown hair.

"I'm impressed boy. You've got good reflexes." Muffet began to chuckle before letting out a loud gasp. Garnet used her telekinesis to send a large piece of machinary flying towards Muffet.

"Go!" Garnet ordered. She pulled out one sword and charged at Muffet. The dragons ran towards the walkway stairs. To their surprise Goldilocks ignored them and leapt over the rail of the walkway. Goldilocks landed on her feet and charged at the two dueling females. Kimiko raced up the steps towards her father. The chair he sat on was a roller chair.

"Papa? Are you all right?" She gently pulled the duck tape from his mouth. Raimundo tried to pull the rope from around his wrists.

"My little miko. I'm so sorry."

"It's okay Papa. As long as you're safe." The sounds of clashing metal drew the group back towards the fight. Garnet amazingly held her own against the two friends. The clash metal grew louder as the trio fought.

"We have to do something." Clay muttered. Raimundo grunted.

"I can't get these ropes undone. I'm going to find something sharp." He replied and stood up.

"Wait for me!" Kimiko grabbed the back of the chair and rolled her father behind Raimundo. Omi and Clay made their way down the walkway and towards the fight. As the dragons got to the last step, Muffet backharded Garnet hard and sent her stumbling. Goldilocks slammed her leg into Garnet's side. The vessel bounced along the floor as her swords slid across the floor.

"Hold on Partner!" Clay and Omi rushed to Garnet's aid.

"Stay where the hell you are." Garnet ordered holding her hand out. She coughed and dabbed her bottom lip. "I'm fine. I'm okay." Garnet stood up and turned to face the two women.

"You knew one day we would kill you." Goldilocks giggled. Muffet grinned.

"Looks like that day is sooner then we all thought." The pair stopped laughing when Garnet began to chuckle to herself. "Not the attitude I expected when facing sudden death." Muffet commented.

From behind them came a creak. The two friends turned a second too late. The doors of the warehouse flew open. The two females let out a cursed each as the doors collided into them and sent them flying. Garnet pointed at Goldilocks which sent her flying into a nearby wall. She hit the floor and groaned. A long wire wrapped around Goldilocks.

"What the?" She struggled with her bonds. "Get this the hell of me!"

"Garnet! Look out!" Omi warned. Garnet turned to see Muffet charge. The blue female swung her fist out which caught Garnet square in the cheek. Garnet stumbled back and held her cheek.

"Freaks like you should be destoryed." Muffet spat, her eyes wild. Garnet looked at the woman in blue.

"Like me? You looked in the mirror lately?" Garnet ducked and sent another set of boxes tumbling towards Muffet. The said female jumped backwards which put herself in an odd position. When Kimiko, her father and Raimundo returned, they watched Garnet slid across the floor towards Muffet.

The vessel locked her ankles around Muffet's own ankles and tripped the woman in blue over. Muffet's face connected painful with the floor. There was a crack and a explosion of blood. Muffet rolled around on the floor and swore while holding her nose.

"Muffet! Hang on!" Goldilocks wiggled herself free from her prison and charged at Garnet. Kimiko reacted first; sliding the book across the floor. It came to a stop as Goldilocks stepped on it. She was gone in a flash.

"What kind of magic is that?" Muffet asked. She turned to see Garnet holding her at sword point.

"Get back to our world. I won't ask you twice." Garnet hissed dangerously. Muffet looked at the book then back at Garnet. Without Goldilocks to back her up, Muffet knew she was no match. Besides her face hurt like hell. Muffet slowly got to her feet and stepped onto the book. She too disappeared.

The dragons crowded round the book to find two new enteries; **Goldilocks and the three Bears** and **Little Miss Muffet**. The group turned back to Garnet

To the dragons' horror, Garnet hit the floor in a faint.


	17. Chapter 17

_Thank you to ZJohnson for all of her reviews!_

* * *

**Chapter 17: Sickly Sweet**

Garnet was out for awhile. The dragons waited for any sign of recovery. During the morning of the second day, Kimiko began to panic.

Dojo slithered into the sleeping quarters of the temple. "We have a Shen-gong-wu." He informed. The boys turned to the wu scroll but Kimiko kept her eyes on Garnet.

"The Sugar and Spice wand brings inanimate objects to life." Clay informed.

"There's only two people I know who would be connected to that." Garnet gave a groan and sat up.

"Funny how you only wake up now." Dojo muttered. Kimiko fixed the dragon with a glare. Garnet chuckled.

"I was actually awake before that. Kind of needed the sleep." Garnet got to her feet. She stretched her back and limbs. Her bones each popped loudly.

"Gross." Kimiko muttered.

"Who are these people in question?" Omi asked.

"Hansel and Gretel."

"As in Hansel and Gretel and the gingerbread house?" Clay scratched his head.

"Yeah but more to the point...the same pair that was fighting Claire." Garnet informed.

"She looked ready to kill them." Raimundo commented. The group followed Dojo outside. The dragon turned into his true form.

"So would you if your half-siblings killed your father." Garnet replied. She climbed onto Dojo. Looking back, she found the dragons staring at her. "Claire and the twins are half-siblings. Long and complicated history."

"We've got time on the ride." Kimiko replied climbing into Dojo. Garnet let out a sigh.

"Okay. So it goes likes this..."

* * *

Jack Spicer followed his wu detector to a gutted out house in the middle of a huge forest. To his surprise, the house was made out of gingerbread. The boy genius's stomach grumbled.

"Well I am a little peckish." Jack broke off a piece of the house and nibbled on it. Without warning, something smacked off the back of his head and Jack blacked out.

When he came too, he found himself hanging upside down in the house. His vision was filled with another face. Jack let out a scream. "Please don't hurt me!"

"He's really skinny." The face commented. It turned out to be a dark haired girl in a black and white dress. The girl turned to dark haired male who was tending a fire.

"He's all we got."

"But I don't like chewy things." The girl whined. She sat down across from the male. He did not look at her

"It's all we've got." He repeated. That time he did look up. "I'm sorry Gretel."

"We're gonna need to find something else. And soon." Gretel pouted. Jack began to panic which led to him hyperventilating.

"Please don't eat me! I have so much to live for!" Jack whined. Gretel sneered but it was the boy who spoke.

"Shut your trap." He ordered. Jack cried out again.

"I'm nothing but skin and bone. There's no meat on me." The boy threw a rock which grazed Jack's cheek before clattering off into the shadows.

"I said shut the hell up!"

* * *

"And when Claire's parents split up, her father married a new woman. She had two children; twins known as Hansel and Gretel."

"Why did you look so scared the first time they were mentioned?" Kimiko asked.

"Scared isn't the word I'd use. We've had a rough past."

"Such as?" Raimundo egged on. Garnet frowned to herself.

"They are cannibals. Some stupid wombat told them that eating the flesh of a telekinetic will give them telekineses." Garnet crossed her arms over her chest. "Always out to eat my ass."

"Why do you call people a wombat?" Clay began. Before Garnet would reply, Dojo began to descend down to the ground.

The group landed in front of a gingerbread house. The sight made Garnet's stomach turn. "I really hoped I wouldn't have to deal with them." She cursed.

"Ah can see light." Clay informed. The group edged their way towards the house. They peered through the broken sugar glazed windows.

"They've got Jack!" Kimiko gasped. Garnet looked the house and the forest over. "What are we going to do?"

"There's a back way into the house. Wait until the twins have left the house. Then rescue Jack and find the wu." Garnet turned back to the window and held out a hand.

_"Jack? Jack can you hear me?"_

Inside the dragons watched Jack looked around. "Huh?"

_"Keep quiet. The dragons are outside waiting to rescue you. Don't make a sound." _Jack lazily swung round to see Garnet staring at him.

"Are you using your mind?" Jack whispered.

_"How else am I going to get your attention? Now just keep quiet!"_ Garnet ordered. She moved away from the window and out of sight.

The door to the house suddenly began to rattle. As if a giant invisible sledgehammer had smacked into it, the door rocketed off it's hinges. The object slid across the floor and crashed into the twins camp. Hansel and Gretel were on their feet. Hansel stalked towards the doorway.

"Show yourself!" He roared. From the shadows of the tree stepped out Garnet. "Looks like your wish came true Gretel."

"Yummy! You're more to my taste." Gretel gloated. Garnet cooly regarded both.

"I'm surprised a pair of cowards like you two haven't run away yet."

"What did you call us?" Hansel spat.

"Cowards. Every time we face off, you always flee when you lose." Garnet brushed a piece of lint from her shorts. Gretel's face went red.

"We are not cowards!" She screamed. She drew her weapon; a giant black and silver sword.

"We prefer to call it a strategic retreat." Hansel pulled out his sword; an copy of his sister's sword. "But now there is nowhere to run."

"Which means we get to eat you this time."

Garnet stood ready. "No. It means I win, as I usually do, and I send your asses back home."

Gretel rolled her eyes. "Oh listen to you go on and on." She suddenly charged; running full pelt towards to Garnet who drew both swords. Hansel followed his sister.

While the twins fought Garnet, the dragons snuck into the house. Jack practically squealed in relief. "Thank god you guys are here. Get me out of this thing!" Raimundo slammed a hand over his mouth.

"Keep quiet." The wind dragon ordered. He worked quickly on the binds that held Jack. When the last one was cut, the boy genius hit the floor. Omi, Clay and Kimiko followed Dojo's directions to the wu.

"What are we going to do now?" Jack asked. The dragons looked at each other. Garnet hadn't said what to do next. The group peered out into the dark.

The sounds of battle were loud in the otherwise still night. The dragons couldn't see much beyond the door of the house. They couldn't risk getting into the fight.

Then out of nowhere Garnet ran towards the house. She slid across the floor. Using her telekinesis, Garnet picked up the broken door and slammed it back into place. She kept her hand out in front in a bid to block entry.

Outside came a mocking voice. "See how the great vessel runs away!" Gretel jeered.

"Didn't you say you were going to kick our asses?" Hansel gloated. The dragons looked at Garnet to find she wasn't out of breath.

"I have a plan."

"Really? And what is this great plan?" Kimiko huffed.

"I'm going to force Gretel closer to the house. One of you throw the book at her. It should suck her in." Garnet explained.

"What about Hansel?" Jack inquired.

"Leave him to me." Garnet yanked the door open and charged out. Kimiko stood ready with her book.

The fight reached fever-pitch before Gretel appeared from the darkness. Kimiko threw the open book at the cannibal who stared in shock and scorn. There was a flash and Gretel was gone.

The flash was enough to catch Hansel's attention. He turned away from Garnet who saw her chance. The flash lasted long enough for the dragons to see Garnet slam her elbow into Hansel's temple. The impact made him crumple to the floor. Garnet dragged the male twin towards the book and dragged him on to it. Hansel was gone. The house disappeared from sight.

The group crowded round to look at the wu; a small wand that smelt faintly of sugar and spice.

Jack left quietly; sensing an oddness to the silence. The dragons did not watch him leave but Garnet did.

The book on the floor held the next chapter; **Hansel and Gretel**.


	18. Chapter 18

_Thank you to ZJohnson for all of her reviews! So we have one more chapter and then this story is finished. Don't worry though. I'm already writing up the sequel. Until then!_

* * *

**Chapter 18: Can't catch me**

When the group arrived back at the temple, they returned to their beds and promptly slept. Garnet tossed and turned all night; her mind whirling with ideas. Come morning she had several ideas.

Garnet stared at the wand wu in her hand. Everything was starting to click into place. The stolen book, the mercenaries. The dragons waited silently round the kitchen table for Garnet to hand back the wu.

"I think I know who started the mess." Garnet began. She placed the item on the table.

"Who?"

"Ginger." The reply got many confused looks from the dragons.

"Who?" Dojo repeated. Garnet sighed.

"The Gingerbread boy. Everyone just calls him Ginger."

"As in you can't catch me?" Clay asked. Garnet nodded her head.

"Why would a piece of food steal a book?" Raimundo snorted.

"It's because he's a piece of food that he stole the thing in the first place." Garnet shot back. The dragons looked at her. "Ginger wants to be...can't believe I'm about to say this...a real boy." Garnet pulled a face.

"I thought that was Pinocchio." Raimundo muttered.

"It is." Kimiko agreed. Garnet looked down at the wand. "So how does that tie in with Ginger?" The fire dragon inquired.

"When Hansel and Gretel killed their family, they left the house in search of their fortune. They met and lived with a young woman who used a wand similar to this. She made houses and people out of gingerbread and sweets."

"And used the wand to bring them to life?" Dojo guessed.

"Yeah. One such creation was Ginger." Garnet replied. The dragons still seemed confused. "It was suppose to be a gimmick for her trade. Ginger was suppose to be returned to normal every night and was given life in the morning."

"So what happened?" Clay asked.

"He broke free. Got out of his shackles and hauled ass out of there. No one saw Ginger for a while until he started to pop up. Every time there was an answer to his bread problem, Ginger would be there."

"And he stole this book to get a real life?"

"Yes. Only problem is no one but the gods and goddess can use the heaven books. And it resulted in what you see now." Garnet explained.

"I wonder. What happened to the sweet sellers?" Omi questioned.

"Got cannibalised." Garnet tried hard not to laugh at the dragons' expression. "What? You take in two murderers with a taste of human flesh, and see if you get out alive."

"They ate her?" Kimiko turned green.

"Killed her, ate her and burnt her business to the ground." Garnet shook her head. "They're not your problem right now. We don't have to deal with them."

"If we find this Ginger does that mean it's over?" Omi asked. Garnet nodded her head.

"As soon as I send him back."

"What about you?" Kimiko questioned. She sounded sad. Garnet glanced over to the fairy tale book.

"I return home and put that wombat on trial."

* * *

Jack could smell gingerbread.

It made his mouth water. As the boy genius stumbled out of bed, he followed the smell to his desk. At first he thought his mother had made something sweet to eat. Instead Jack got the shock of his life.

It was a gingerbread man but this one was sitting up right. It had it's arms crossed over it's chest and was sat on a large book. "Hi there. Glad to see you're awake."

Jack stared in horror at the talking piece of food. "I know this maybe a shock to you but I'm in need of a favour righ-"

Jack let out the loudest shrillest scream his lungs could muster. Ginger winced slightly at the sound.

"Are you finished?"

"What the hell are you?" Jack demanded. Ginger stood up leaving a small scattering of crumbs on the book cover.

"I am Ginger. You are?" Jack continued to cower. "I asked you a question."

"I'm not use to having my food talk to me." Jack whimpered in reply. Ginger slapped a stubby hand to his forehead.

"I'm not going to do anything. You could crush me completely." The words seemed to reassure Jack somewhat. "Now. Your name?"

"Jack Spicer."

"Right then Jack. As I was saying." Ginger paced the length of Jack's desk. "I need help in reading that book."

"Why?"

"There is a spell in there that will grant me a real life. Only problem is..." If food could blush, Ginger was sure he would have turned scarlet. "I think I messed up. So I need your help."

"Why do you think I'll be any better?" Jack scoffed. Ginger went to reply but another loud shrill sound cut him off.

"I think we're past the point of screaming." Ginger huffed. Jack waved him off and made his way over to his wu detector.

"It's an alarm. A new wu has shown itself."

"A what?"

* * *

"The Gingerbread Cutter turns your opponent into gingerbread. If used with the reversing mirror, the food object will turn human." Dojo explained.

"I was right!" Garnet grinned.

"Do you think Ginger knows about the wu?" Kimiko asked. Garnet shrugged her shoulders.

"Hell if I know. He is linked to that wu so he'll be around. I wouldn't worry too much." She reassured. Dojo began to descend down into a small town in England.

"Now if Ah was a food based wu, where would Ah hide?" Clay wondered out loud. Before Dojo could even give the group a location, a loud scream erupted from a nearby bakery. The group all turned to see Jack Spicer in the window. He was trying to fend off an angry cook and grab an item.

"Jack! I've got it!" A small blur went running past the group. A few seconds later Jack emerged from the shop. Garnet stared at him in horror.

"The book!" She exclaimed. Jack looked down at the book in his hand then back at Garnet. "Give that back." The vessel ordered.

"Finders keepers." Jack activated his helipack.

"Get Ginger. He has your wu." Garnet ordered.

"What about you?" Omi asked. Jack began to fly away. Kimiko pulled the water dragon behind her and the dragons chased after the magical food object.

To the surprise of everyone present, Garnet pole-vaulted herself up onto the shop roofs. She chased after Jack, finally throwing herself at him. The vessel clung to Jack's waist and bought him crashing down to the ground.

"Get off me!" Jack whined. Garnet sat on Jack's chest.

"The book. Now." She hissed. Jack tried to wiggle free. Garnet increased pressure in his chest until Jack caved it. He handed the book back to Garnet.

"Now get off me! You've got what you wanted." The boy genius complained. The dragon came running back to Garnet.

"We lost Ginger." Raimundo informed. To the dragons' surprise, Garnet did not look annoyed or upset. She simply nodded her head.

"Yeah. He's using that chant of his again." Garnet turned back to Jack. "Does Ginger have the wu?"

"Yes."

"Does he know how to use it?" Jack looked at Garnet then at the dragons. He nodded his head. "Right. So we head back to your house and nab him then." Garnet smiled.

"Actually..." Jack trailed off. Everyone was staring at him.

* * *

"He told him about the wu?" Master Fung looked at Jack who tried to ignore the whole situation.

"Yes. Jack told Ginger how the wu works. Also..." Kimiko frowned at Jack. "Ginger knows about the reversing mirror."

"And logically Ginger will come here for the item." Raimundo added. Jack huffed to himself.

"No. He decided that more plans had to be made so he would return to my house. What's the big deal anyway? He becomes a real human. So what?" He grumbled. Garnet glared forcefully at Jack.

"Here's the deal red head. Ginger's already caused trouble with this quest of his. I've been running around trying to locate the other residents and return them home. Ginger has to return home in his current state otherwise it will throw my world out of sync." Garnet placed her hands on her hips. "Ya got me?"

"Yeah. I got you." Jack sniffed.

"What are we going to do about this?" Master Fung inquired. Garnet and the dragons began to swap ideas.

* * *

A single window opened in Jack's lair late that night. The boy genius watched something being pushed through the window which clanked on the ground. Ginger followed the item. "You made it." Jack picked up the wu from the floor.

"Of course. No one can catch me." Ginger replied smugly. He climbed up onto Jack's workbench. "What about you? Do you think have the book?"

"Yeah." Jack mumbled. Ginger frowned to himself. Something seemed a little off. "How did you escape from the dragons anyway?"

"I have a chant." Jack blinked several times at Ginger. The said item sighed. _"Run, run as fast as you can. You can't catch me! I'm the Gingerbread man!"_

"Oh. I totally get it." Jack grinned. Ginger rolled his icing eyes and sighed again.

"So. How do we get this other wu? I want to turn into a human right now." He added. Jack picked up the cookie cutter wu and moved away from Ginger. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing. It's just..." Jack trailed off as a hand clamped around Ginger's figure and lifted him into the air. Ginger began to kick the air in a blind panic.

"Put me down! I demand you let me go right now!" Ginger was turned round and came face to face with Garnet. Behind her stood the dragons.

"Hello Ginger."

"Put me down!" Ginger growled.

"Or what?" Raimundo snickered. Ginger grabbed Garnet's finger and bit down as hard as he could. Garnet yelped and let him go. The food item bounced off the floor before running off into the shadows. Garnet stared at the tiny bite marks on her finger.

"You son of a wombat!" The vessel tore off after him. Omi moved to help but Clay's hand clamped onto his shoulder.

"But Garnet..."

"Garnet sounds all right." Clay replied. His answer was met with several crashes, bangs and cursing. Jack's face continued to fall.

"What the hell is she going? She'll ruin my lair!" He squeaked. Raimundo made his way over to Jack and held out his hand. Jack stared at him. "What?"

"The deal Jack." Raimundo reminded. Behind him Kimiko clutched her head before opened her book. Jack tried to back away from Raimundo.

"We got it fair and square." He whined. Raimundo raised his fist which caused the boy genius to squeal in fright. "Here! Take it! Just don't hurt me!" Jack begged. Raimundo took the wu from Jack and turned round.

"Heads up! One nasty ass Gingerbread man coming up!" Garnet threw Ginger out from the shadows and straight at Kimiko. To Jack's and Ginger's surprise, Kimiko caught Ginger in the book. There was a bright flash as Garnet left the shadows of the lair. "You might wanna fix back there. Sorry about that." Garnet grinned.

The dragons huddled round the book to find the final story; **The Gingerbread Man**


	19. Chapter 19

_Thank you to ZJohnson for every one of her reviews! This is the final chapter to my story. I am in the process of writing up the sequel so keeps your eyes on this space!_

* * *

**Chapter 19: Home**

With the return of Ginger and the reclaiming of the book, Garnet knew it was time to go home.

The dragons knew this as well. They were all stood in courtyard of the temple. Kimiko seemed to be on the verge of tears.

"Do you really have to go?"

"Yes. I'm sorry Kimiko." Garnet smiled sadly at the fire dragon. She liked the dragons. They were good people. "I'm needed to help restore order. Much like you guys."

"Ya think everything's okay back home?" Clay asked. Garnet shrugged her shoulders.

"I don't know. I hope so." Garnet peered down at the book on the floor. "I'll know once once I'm back."

Omi looked over to Kimiko. "Do not fear Kimiko. I am sure we can read Garnet's story in your book." He surprised when Kimiko shook her head.

"I hate to break it to you oh optimistic one, but I don't have a story." Garnet informed. Raimundo rose both eyebrows in shock.

"You don't have your own story?"

"Nope. You'd be surprised with how many don't have their own stories here. There are hundreds of other people populating my world." An awkward silence fell.

"Will we ever see each other again?" Kimiko asked. She sniffed loudly. Once again Garnet shrugged.

"I really don't know. It was nice meeting you guys."

"Same here partner." Clay replied. Garnet gave them once last warm smile before stepping onto the book. There was a flash and Garnet was gone.

Kimiko buried her face into Raimundo's chest and began to sob.

* * *

When Garnet opened her eyes, she found herself in a forest in front of a cave. It took a few minutes for Garnet to get her thoughts straight.

"Well done Garnet. You've managed to get everyone back home safely." Garnet turned to see two women standing behind her. It all came flooding back to Garnet. She was stood where the gods had first told her about the Beanstalk King. Garnet bowed her head.

"My ladies." She handed the book back. The two women, Goddesses from the Heavenly Kingdom, took the book out of Garnet's hands.

"You have done well Garnet." One said.

"Very well indeed." Garnet straightened up.

"Is everything is order?" The goddesses nodded their heads together. "What about the Beanstalk kingdom? Will there be anymore trouble from him?"

"No. The recent defeat at your hands plus..." One goddess began.

"...the magic disruption has quietened the King of the Beanstalk. For now." The other goddess finished.

"We are in debt once more to you."

"Ginger?"

"Is being dealt with as we speak. You should rest." Garnet tried to stop a yawn from happening.

"Yes. Rest. There is a village just down the path. Take this." The second goddess gave Garnet two gold coins. Garnet bowed again.

"Thank you." The two goddesses watched Garnet head off.

"Do you think we should have told her?" One asked.

"Maybe but we were told not too." The second replied.

"Shame. It would have been nice for her to know." The goddesses were gone in the blink of an eye; back to their kingdom in the heavens.

* * *

Kimiko was surprised to find the story in her book. She was lying on her bed and had decided to read her old fairytales. As she skimmed to the back, she was surprised to find an extra story.

The fire dragon turned to the contents page but could find nothing on the story. She turned back to the story and read the title.

"The Vessel, the snake and the dragon." Kimiko frowned. She had never heard of a story like that. She started to read.

_"The gods were known to chose a person to do their bidding in the world. They chose those who were cunning, determined and ready to fight. After a few long years the gods finally managed to find their vessel. Her name was Garnet Chambers."_


End file.
